Merry Christmas!
by Rae-316
Summary: Future Fic. RM, SS. During Christmas Break, Seth finally gets to discover why Summer dissapeared from his life. Meanwhile, Julie Cooper reaks havoc on the Cohen family, including Ryan. Sequel to My Kryptonite
1. Introduction

Merry Christmas  
  
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own nada from the OC, but Adam Brody is mine in my heart!  
  
A/N: This is a sequel to My Kryptonite ( in a way ). It takes place in the future. all will be explained in the intro! It's Seth/Summer, Ryan/Marissa and if you don't want to read a drama filled story, don't read this one!  
  
Chapter 1: Introduction  
  
The rest of high school had come and gone for Ryan, Marissa, Seth and Summer. Each couple stuck by each other, throughout everything. They became the best of friends, and could not deal with too much of a separation anxiety, so were thrilled when they were all accepted to UCLA.  
Seth and Summer spent every waking hour together, maybe that was too much, looking back. But still, they were in love, which seemed almost laughable to Summer, who at one time, despised Seth Cohen. Or did she really? She couldn't remember the time when she did that well, because she was exuberantly happy now.  
But that was already in the past. In the middle of the sophomore year at UCLA, when everything seemed perfect, Summer had started to act a little strange around everyone, especially Seth. Then, one day, Seth came to her dorm to find it cleaned out. Seth knew she was serious about this, because every last expensive item was missing from her usually luxuriously filled closet.  
Days, then weeks, had gone by and still no word from Summer. Seth didn't know whether to be furious or worried. He spent nights waiting by the phone, praying that she would call. Until Marissa delivered the bad news.  
"Summer isn't coming back," She had said, fighting through strong tears, hugging him without a care.  
He didn't know what to do then. He was lost without her for a short while, but after a lot of consoling from Ryan and Marissa, he finally had the strength to work again. He began to slowly show up at classes again and even started new hobbies, all in an attempt to get over his first love, his only love.  
That was nearly two years ago, Seth thought, reminiscently as he stared out the Rover window.  
Marissa and Ryan were sitting up front, laughing and talking, which only made Seth's familiar envy of them creep up in a strong wave. He sighed, leaning against the car window, trying desperately not to think about Summer's random disappearance from his life. Things would seem so much better, if only he knew why?! 


	2. Homecoming

Chapter 2: Homecoming  
  
"Thanks so much, Kirsten." Summer said graciously, twirling the phone cord in her delicate fingers. Not so delicate as they used to be, thought Summer, as she noticed her chipped nails and the roughness of her skin. It made her frown, but she ignored it and thanked Kirsten again for helping her out before hanging up the phone.  
She placed her hands on her hips and looked around her crowded, messy bedroom. She glanced at her watch. It was practically noon and she had promised herself that she would attempt to clean some of this mess. As she picked up a teddy bear and a tee shirt from the ground, she couldn't but help her mind wander. The tee shirt was old and worn out, with yellow lettering stamped out across the chest. Faded, but still readable, she mouthed "UCLA" to herself and sat down on the bed, nearly in tears.  
"I'll clean some other day." She prompted out loud, falling back and sighing.  
  
"We're only half an hour away." Marissa called out to Seth, who she noticed was abnormally more depressed then usual. He had been since. . . since Summer left him. She turned around to face Seth, even though facing backwards in a car always made her nauseous. She winced internally at the expression of pain and self pity on his face.  
"Yay?" Seth asked, forcing a laugh for Marissa's sake.  
"Come on," Ryan pleaded from the driver's seat. "It's Christmas. It's the best holiday!" He overflowed his words with forced happiness, causing Marissa to part her lips into a forced smile. Everything was so damn forced lately, thought Seth.  
"May I remind you, that I am Jewish, and therefore never really enjoyed Christmas?" Seth spat out, leaning against the window again.  
"Hannukah, Christmas, it's all the same thing." Marissa announced giddily. "It's about getting presents, eating good food, and being with the ones you love." She squealed and kissed Ryan's cheek.  
"This is where Summer would say ew." Seth sighed, shutting his eyes. Seeing Marissa and Ryan be all couple-y was aggravating when he had no one.  
Marissa sighed as well, giving Seth a weary look and leaning against her own window.  
"Some holiday spirit you have, Seth." Ryan retorted. There was a pause of silence in the car, except for the light hum of the Rover's wheels on the pavement of the California highway.  
"I can't wait to get home." Marissa squealed, out of nowhere, trying to lighten the mood.  
"Me too." Seth forced a smile, since that was the perpetual theme of this car ride, but the smile didn't hide the obtrusive sarcasm in his voice.  
  
Summer had given up all hope on cleaning that day. Instead, she decided to run some errands. Great timing too, she thought, as she had entered the pharmacy in Newport to pick up some medicine. As she waited online, she could feel Julie Cooper ( or was it Julie Nichol now? ) staring holes into her own head. It made her oh so uncomfortable, but she managed to make it to the cashier, worry free. Julie Cooper couldn't faze her.  
"Summer? Is that you, darling?" Julie's voice rang out cheerily from Summer's side. Dammit, and she was so close at getting away. She paid for her prescriptions and smiled at Julie.  
"Hi Mrs. Cooper." Summer frowned indecisively, wandering if it was Mrs. Nichol, after all.  
"Oh, please, call me Julie." Julie exclaimed vibrantly as she handed over the cashier a credit card. Summer peeked at Julie's items, which included a box of condoms and denture cream. Ew. How anyone would want to be intimate with Caleb Nichol was beyond her. She could barely believe he was Seth's grandfather. Her heart twittered as she thought of his name, but she paid not attention, and pressed on with Julie Cooper.  
"Ok, Julie." Summer flashed an insincere grin. "Marissa's coming home this weekend, right?" Summer asked, as they made their way to the parking lot.  
"Yes, I'm terribly excited." Julie squealed in a very Marissa-ish way, her eyes showing slight remorse.  
"Same here." Summer smiled honestly. And she was. Even though Coop and her had been constantly in touch over the phone, she hadn't seen her since the night she said goodbye, back at UCLA. A chill ran down Summer's spine as she remembered those horrible days of her past, and she shut it out of her mind, as usual.  
"So, how's . . ." Julie paused as they reached their cars, glancing at Summer's tiny Honda. "Life?" Julie almost laughed out loud and obviously was restraining herself, poorly.  
"Life," Summer smiled, looking up at the warm California sun, "is good."  
"Good." Julie waved goodbye and got into her car, snickering as soon as she in. She knew girls like Summer Roberts. Heck, she would have been Summer Roberts, had she not gotten together with Caleb. Julie silently congratulated herself on landing a man with a heavy wallet and started her car.  
Summer rolled her eyes as Julie's Lexus disappeared from her sight. Big, flashy car for a big, flashy mouth, she thought. Summer opened the squeaky door of her humble Honda, throwing her bag into the car, and turning the car on, but not before letting a huge, rumbling sigh leave her lips. She had felt so alone, lately. She couldn't wait for Coop to get here. She was in dire need of a friend. 


	3. Secrets

Chapter 3: Secrets  
  
"Seth!" Kirsten cried, wrapping her arms around her son.  
"Mom. . ." Seth groanded, under his mother's weight, which wasn't much, but still enough to make his lanky bones stumble. Kirsten paid no attention to his complaining groans and started to tear.  
"Ryan!" She immediately let go of Seth, who was partially relieved. She ran to Ryan, who had a completely different reaction to this welcoming.  
Seth swore he saw Ryan shed a tear as Kirsten ransacked him. Seth laughed as Ryan dropped his bag and hugged Kirsten back. Sandy walked in, nonchalantly, giving Ryan a head up and petting Seth's head.  
"Dad." Seth acknowledged him, smiling.  
"Seth." Sandy smiled, turning to Kirsten. "You're needed in the kitchen."  
Kirsten kissed Sandy's cheek, taking her paws off Ryan, who now just look plain dumbfounded, and ran off to the kitchen.  
"How was the ride?" Sandy asked, running his fingers through his dark, tousled hair.  
"Nauseating." Ryan panted, placing their bags by the staircase. "I'm going to say goodbye to Marissa."  
"Dude, you are going to see her in like two hours." Seth rolled his eyes.  
Ryan shrugged, smiling from ear to ear. "That's a long time for us." He headed out the front door.  
"Man, they," Seth said, placing himself on one of the white couches of the Cohen's living room. "Are what made that car ride nauseating."  
"No luck with the ladies, Seth?" Sandy laughed, sitting alongside him.  
Seth glared at Sandy who got the picture and patted Seth's head again and went about his business. Seth sat up, slowly, inhaling the familiar smells of the Cohen house. He sighed and set up the PS2. Might as well fall back into old habits. This is going to be a long holiday, he thought, as he kicked off his shoes.  
  
"I don't really want to go home, just yet." Marissa smiled at Ryan, kissing him.  
"What do you suggest?" Ryan playfully nibbled on her lip.  
"I want to see Summer." Marissa said cautiously, as if Seth could hear her from all the way inside the house.  
"You know where she lives?" Ryan asked, half surprised.  
"She gave me her address. It's by my dad's apartment." Marissa smiled, nodding, and went to let herself in the Rover.  
Ryan looked back at the house, then to the Rover, where Marissa sat patiently and he crawled into the car, starting it up.  
"So, you and Summer, you've kept in touch?" Ryan had never really brought up Summer with Marissa before. He never felt the need to, but her random suggestion to see her, irritated him a little. Why did she keep it secret from him?  
"She made me promise not to say anything, but yes." Marissa nodded, looping her hand in his free one as they drove in the direction to her father's place.  
"How is she?" Ryan asked nonchalantly, as if Summer hadn't just disappeared from their lives.  
"She's managing." Marissa's eyes looked faint and distant and he took this as a sign not to pry. Whatever was going on with Summer must have been pretty bad, if Marissa got so upset over it.  
  
"Coop!" Summer shrieked as she opened her apartment door, throwing her arms around her best friend.  
"Sum!" Marissa squealed just as loudly and they practically engulfed each other with hugs and kisses. Ryan stood there, timidly, waiting to be acknowledged. Summer and Marissa separated and Ryan noticed Summer looked different, more mature.  
"Hey Ryan." Summer smiled. "Oh my god, guys, come in!" She squealed, grabbing Marissa's arm and pushing them inside. Her apartment was slightly messy, slightly small, but Ryan had seen worse. But this wasn't exactly what he expected Summer to be living in. He looked at her again, sadly, as she and Marissa squealed over each other. Summer was wearing her hair back, which was rare, and her skin was make up free. She still looked gorgous and manicured, as usual, but with a certain roughness to her. She had a loose tee shirt on and a pair of jeans, and some flip flops. She looked so down to earth and casual. And she referred to him as Ryan, not Chino. This wasn't the Summer he had once known.  
"Ryan," Summer called. "Do you want something to drink?" She asked, opening her fridge.  
"Water?" Ryan asked, and she nodded, pouring three cups of water. Ryan and Marissa sat down at the island in the kitchen and Ryan just watched, entranced, as Marissa talked about college and Summer went on about how she bumped into Julie Cooper at the pharmacy. Ryan had this craving to mention Seth, but he stayed silent. He desperately wanted to know why Summer had left all of them, and so suddenly, but he didn't want to disturb Marissa and Summer, they looked like they were having the time of their life.  
"Where is she?" Marissa half whispered, which caused Ryan to look up. He took a gulp of his water and stared back down at the glass, when Summer gave him a concerned look.  
"She's with . . ." Ryan tuned out, figuring they were gossiping on the Newport socialites, which he really couldn't care much about. Finally, after ten minutes of girl talk, Marissa tapped Ryan's shoulder and said she should really be getting home or her mom would freak out. Summer nodded at this, giving Marissa a big hug, and led them out the door.  
"It was nice seeing you Ryan." Summer smiled, wholeheartedly. She paused for a second, as if she wanted to ask him something, but then kept smiling, pushing her thoughts to the back of her head.  
"Same here, Summer." He smiled, giving her a hug. That was a first, thought Marissa. But she had noticed the same changes Ryan had in Summer. And it made her worry for her friend immensely.  
  
"Yes!" Seth screamed as he clobbered his victim in the video game. All of a sudden, he noticed a pair of small, tiny fingers on the other end of the couch. He looked at them, from the corner of his eye, suspiciously. The hands started to move, and then dropped, hidden from his view behind the couch. He heard a giggle that burst into a chuckle and then a hush. He slowly paused the game, dropping the controller and went to look behind the couch.  
"Seth!" Kirsten shouted all of a sudden, running to the couch and wrapping her arms around him, forcing him to look straight instead of see who was hiding behind the couch.  
"Mom." Seth said, eyeing her suspiciously. "Who else is home?"  
"Your father." Kirsten said, laughing nervously.  
"My father doesn't laugh like a little girl, or have tiny hands." Seth replied, still suspicious, and ducked in front of a ranting Kirsten and went behind the couch.  
A tiny toddler girl, as cute as a button, was curled up behind the couch, her legs sticking up straight in the air, along with her arms. She was making little patterns with her fingers, tracing Seth's face. She had soft, black curls that made her eyes stand out incredibly.  
"And who are you?" Seth asked, incredulously as a guilt stridden Kristen came over to Seth's side, picking up the tiny girl.  
"This," Kirsten said. "Is Charlotte. I'm babysitting for a friend."  
"So, why were you hiding her from me?" Seth asked, smiling at Charlotte, who had stuck her thumb in her mouth, squinting up at Seth.  
"Because," Kirsten said obnoxiously in the way parents do, "You scare children."  
"What?" Seth blinked at her widely as she made her way back to the kitchen. "I'm great with children. I am practically a child myself!" He screamed, defensively.  
"Don't remind me of how childish you can be Seth." Kirsten replied blandly and Seth laughed at this.  
He heard the door open and shut, followed by a distraught Ryan huffing into the living room and planting a spot on the couch.  
"Morning Sunshine." Seth said annoyingly, sitting next to him.  
Ryan looked at him, questionably, "Hi."  
"Dude, what's wrong?"  
"I saw," Ryan paused, remembering the promise he made Marissa in the car, "Julie."  
"Cooper? Oh, excuse me, Nichol?" Seth playfully corrected himself.  
"Yeah. Her." Ryan nodded.  
"Huh." Seth groaned, in awe. He knew Julie Cooper, er. . . Nichol, had some wondrous ways of making Ryan feel like crap, but it still shook him up to see the effects on him.  
"That was close." Kirsten sighed, placing Charlotte on the tabletop.  
"Close!" Charlotte screeched and then turned around to face the window. "Mommy!" She screamed, pointing. Kirsten's gaze wondered to the young girl who was approaching the Cohen's front door and she turned painfully white, grabbed the young girl, who squealed out of delight, and ran to catch Summer before Seth did. 


	4. Evil Julie Cooper

AN: Ok.. someone said this has been confusing.. but I don't see how.. can you explain to me why it's confusing. As far as point of view and time.. picture it as if it were on TV, like each section is a different scene. Hope that helps. I think this is one of the best stories I've written, and the idea is in general, original, so I hope people like it!  
  
Chapter 4: Evil Julie Cooper  
  
She hadn't thought of Seth Cohen in practically forever. If forever meant two seconds, because that was a lie. Basically, she thought of him always. Everything she saw, everything she touched, everyone she met, reminded her of Seth Cohen. That was unavoidable in the beginning, when she first left UCLA, but she grown stronger, building walls so high that no thought of Seth Cohen could ever be reached. She'd push every reminiscent spark of a thought to the back of her mind, just as she had earlier when she wanted to ask Ryan if Seth was in Newport as well. Summer had stopped herself then, thankfully. She figured that if Seth were in Newport, Marissa would have mentioned it by now. At least, she hoped he wasn't home, as she climbed up the front steps of the Cohen's mansion.  
  
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"Shit," Ryan muttered to himself, quickly standing up from his spot next to Seth on the couch. "I forgot my wallet in the car."  
"It's a miracle you haven't lost your head yet." Seth said dryly, pausing the video game. It was amazing to him how the first thing him and Ryan do is not unpack, not take a swim, not chill with the parents, but play video games. Just like old times.  
Ryan rolled his eyes jokingly, making his way to the door, where the doorbell rang before just as he reached it. He, being the closest to the door, opened it promptly.  
"Summer." He stated in a surprised tone, a very loud tone. He looked back at the living room, where Seth's ears had perked up and he shuffled to get up quickly. On impulse, Ryan pushed himself between Summer and the door, shutting the door behind him, glancing back nervously. "What are you doing here?"  
Summer shifted her feet, impatiently. "What are you doing here?"  
"I live here." Ryan confirmed slowly, targeting his gaze at her, questioningly. "What are you doing here?" He repeated, clearly amused by her shifting feet.  
Before Summer could reply, the front door opened quickly and Kirsten darted out, tiny Charlotte cooped up in her arms.  
"Summer!" She squealed, nervously. "You're early!"  
Ryan stared at them with a blank expression, confused and speechless, as Kirsten handed the tot to Summer, who embraced her, like . . . like a mother, thought Ryan.  
"Thanks again, Kirsten." Summer nodded goodbye to Ryan, who along with Kirsten watched her leave.  
"Care to explain?" Ryan demanded, crossing his arms sternly.  
"No." Kirsten turned on her heels and opened the door, calling behind her. "And Seth doesn't need to know either."  
Ryan almost went after her for answers, but instead made his way to the Cooper's, or was it the Nichols' now, to see someone who he was sure had some answers. Someone who happened to be his girlfriend.  
  
"Who was that?" Seth attacked his mom as soon as she shut the door behind her.  
"Charlotte's mother." Kirsten replied coolly.  
"Ha." Seth laughed heartily, sliding into a chair in the kitchen as Kirsten put away clean dishes. "I could've sworn I heard Ryan say Summer's name when he answered the door." He eyed his mother wearily, trying to break her down.  
Kirsten shrugged, shutting the dishwasher, clapping her hands at her motherly accomplishment, and went to go find Sandy, leaving Seth alone to wonder if he was just hearing things.  
Seth sighed, something him and his crew seem to do a lot of lately. Did he just refer to Ryan and Marissa as his crew? He laughed out loud and sat back down at the paused screen of the video games. After a while of staring at the screen, he figured that somewhere between the Rover and the house, Ryan had gotten lost and would wind up with Marissa. At this realization, he grabbed the keys to the Rover, deciding to escape the cold, empty Cohen house and go down to the pier for a walk.  
  
"Ryan!" Julie exclaimed, throwing her arms around Ryan's as he squirmed with great discomfort. "How are you?" She let go instantly, beaming down at him in the doorway of her mansion.  
"Good. You?" He found it best to converse with Marissa's mom in as minimal vocabulary was possible.  
"Great!" Julie flashed him a over exaggerative grin, to display how 'great' she was. "Marissa's in her room." She winked at him, eerily, before abruptly turning off to god knows where.  
Ryan shuddered at Julie's departure and ran up the stairs to Marissa's room.  
"Knock, knock." He called at the open door, peering inside to see Marissa unpacking her clothes from a duffel bag. She looked up at him, smiling at his sudden appearance, but her smile seemed sad as well. "Now, don't get all excited." Ryan laughed, sitting on an empty spot on her bed.  
"Sorry." She sighed, daintily sitting next to him. "Seeing Summer like that kind of bummed me out." He wrapped his arm around her, in a consoling way.  
"Why did she leave, Marissa?" He asked gently, trying his best not to sound nosy.  
Marissa stared at him, biting her lip, fighting with herself on what to say until she lowered her voice and said, "Family issues." She had decided this was ambiguous enough to tell Ryan, without betraying Summer's trust.  
"Oh." Ryan pushed on, "What kind of family issues?"  
"The parental kind." She blurted quickly, as if this was rehearsed. But she said it all guilt free, because she wasn't exactly lying. Ryan sighed, giving up. He shouldn't pry too much, because whatever did happen to Summer, she didn't want Seth to know.  
  
Julie had happened to be walking past Marissa's bedroom. Ok, that was BS. She had walked by to check if that poor shmuck was making any moves on her daughter, or vice versa. Thankfully, for her benefit, they were only talking. But their conversation was very intriguing to Julie's ears and she practically giggled with excitement as she swiftly walked back to Caleb's study, where he was hovering over some papers.  
"Ryan and Marissa are discussing Summer's little problem." Julie whispered evilly, sliding into one of the empty chairs.  
Caleb looked up from his work, smiling at her visit. "Now, Jules, it's not nice to eavesdrop." He quickly jotted down something on a paper. "Isn't Summer the one who went out with Seth?"  
"The door was open!" She exclaimed, as if that was a justified excuse. "And, yes, that's the slut." She leaned over to Caleb, whispering into his ear. "I really don't want my Marissa to be friends with that hussy!"  
"Well, dear, we can't decide who our children socialize with. Look at who Kirsten married. God knows I never approved of that hippie, Sandy." Caleb chuckled bitterly. Julie smiled, placing her arm on his knee to grab his attention, which it did.  
"Did you also know that your very own daughter is practically harboring that mishap, Summer?" Julie cackled at Caleb's confused expression. "Oh, Caleb. How do you think Summer found an apartment so fast with no money?"  
"The same way Jimmy did." Caleb concluded, rubbing the temples of his forehead.  
"Exactly." Julie kissed Caleb's throbbing forhead. "If only someone who had some authority over Kirsten could express to her the concerns of the town for Ms. Roberts." She stroked his thigh, gently.  
"Kirsten has no intention of following any advice I give her, Jules."  
"The least you can do is try." She said, strongly.  
"Fine." Caleb gave in, kissing her cheek. "For you."  
Julie clapped her hands with joy. "Now, how am I going to get rid of that Ryan character once and for all?" 


	5. Unexpected

Chapter 5: Unexpected  
  
The pier hadn't changed that much since high school, Seth thought, as he sat down on a bench. The boardwalk was still covered with beach blond, bikini-ridden babes and over muscular jocks. It made him laugh and want to throw punches all at the same time.  
He had barely spent ten minutes on the bench when he saw a familiar face in the crowd. He jerked up straight, staring at the young, beautiful girl who was buying an ice cream cone at the stand to the side of him.  
"Nicole?" Seth asked himself, unsurely. He stood up, walking over to the girl, quietly, hoping she would recognize him first.  
"Seth!" Nicole screamed, grabbing his arm as he passed by her smoothly.  
"Nicole!" Seth exclaimed as she engulfed him in a hug. For a step mom, Nicole was pretty damn hot, which wasn't much a surprise, considering she was in her mid-twenties. Seeing her was almost painful, because all it did was stir up memories of her stepdaughter, Summer. Yes, THAT Summer.  
"How are you? Still at UCLA?" Nicole asked, walking them over to Seth's bench, where they both sat down as Nicole, scantily clad as Seth noticed, licked an ice cream cone.  
Seth gulped, ignoring the fact that she was sort of touching his knee and smiled. "Yeah. This is my last year."  
"That's awesome!" She exclaimed, taking another long, slow lick from her cone.  
"Yeah." He paused, trying to decide what to do next. "I," He began, stammering around with the words.  
Nicole nodded, "You want to know about Summer."  
"Is it that obvious?" Seth shrugged it off, blushing.  
Nicole nodded once more. She had seemed to grow a lot since the night he first met her. He could remember that night well. It was prom night, senior year. He had gone to pick up Summer, she looked amazing. Nicole had taken a sudden liking to Seth as he opened the door, something he wasn't expecting from his girlfriend's stepmother. That had seemed so long ago to Seth and he looked back at Nicole, still licking her ice cream cone, staring at him with happiness and contempt displayed all over her face.  
"Well," Nicole stood up slowly. "To tell you the truth, Seth, I don't know where Summer is exactly. I haven't seen her since," She paused, throwing away the remnants of her cone into a nearby trash can, "Since she dropped out."  
"Same here." Seth stood up, stuffing his hands into his pockets to prevent from pulling out all his hair. Why did he have to sulk about Summer Roberts all day and night? It only drove him insane. She was gone, he had to face that.  
"I do know," She whispered. "That she works at the Crab Shack."  
"Summer works?" Seth laughed, but quickly ceased when he saw the serious expression on Nicole's face.  
"I saw her there, one night, but she didn't see me. I'm not sure when she works, but," Nicole smiled, shutting herself up. "If anything, you could always ask Kirsten where Summer is." Nicole smiled once again, before quickly exiting.  
Seth stood there, practically numb. He couldn't get past the fact that Summer was working, and out of all places, the Crab Shack. But secondly, his mother was definitely up to something. Seth, without a second thought, started to walk to the Crab Shack, hopefully to land upon some answers.  
  
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"Did Ryan leave already, sweetie?" Julie Cooper purred as she walked past Marissa's room.  
"He's in the bathroom." Marissa smiled, continuing to unpack her belongings.  
Julie smiled at her daughter and started making her way to the bathroom, where she heard the sink running and the door opening.  
"Ryan," Julie cooed. "You're big and strong." She said, tracing her fingertips on his biceps as he came out of the bathroom. He eyed her, suspiciously as she took her hands off. "Will you help me replace a light bulb?" She asked, flirting shamelessly like a teenager.  
"Um," Ryan glance down the hall towards Marissa's room. "Sure."  
"It's this way." Julie said, looping her arm in his. "You wouldn't believe who I ran into today!"  
"Summer?" Ryan asked, knowingly and Julie nodded.  
"She looked just dreadful. I mean, I know the pregnancy was rough, but that was nearly two years ago!" Julie laughed fearlessly as she saw the grimace and confusion on Ryan's face.  
They had reached the end of the corridor and Julie grabbed a box of light bulbs she had purposely left on the chair she had purposely propped up. Ryan saw everything and got to work, screwing in the light bulb as Julie babbled on.  
"I'm sorry, dear. You looked a little confused. I assumed Marissa told you about Summer's pregnancy."  
Ryan shook his head, a feeling of frustration and anger rising up in him. Marissa and Ryan had this 'no secrets' policy, but it wasn't like he ever demanded to know what happened to Summer. Not until today, he thought.  
  
"Oh, well. I feel just awful now!" Julie purred, placing her hands on her hips.  
"It's ok. I kind of figured it out." Ryan said, as he climbed down from the chair and flipped the switch to make sure the light work.  
"Thanks so much, Ryan." Julie smiled, patting him on the back, lightly. "By the way," Julie said, before turning around to unfold her plan to Caleb, "Marissa really SHOULD have told you. Honesty is the key to a good relationship. I'm sure you are always honest with Marissa." Julie smiled, politely, and went about her way, leaving Ryan bewildered and angry, just as she had planned.  
  
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Summer never felt happier then when Charlotte was around, she thought, as she wiped down a counter at the Crab Shack. It was a weekday, and pretty early, so the crowd wasn't too bad yet. She had set up Charlotte on one of the stools of the countertop with some crayons and paper, and the girl had been amusing herself for the past hour. Meanwhile, Summer was bored out of her mind. She sighed, resting on a chair next to Charlotte for a few minutes. She saw a speck of dirt on one of the tables by the window and trudged over to it, to wipe it off accordingly. Charlotte hummed a song as Summer cleaned. Summer looked up slowly, out the window, gazing at all the worry free beachgoers and her eyes squinted a little, at someone who looked familiar. She looked harder, trying to make out who it was, and upon realization she panicked, running behind the counter quickly.  
"Summer, what's wrong?" Mindy, the waitress asked.  
"Mindy! Do me a favor! If someone asks for me, just say that you've never heard of me, ok?" She threw her apron off and ran to the kitchen.  
"What about Charlotte?" Mindy asked, folding Summer's apron.  
"She's yours." Summer dashed into the kitchen, watching through the windows of the swinging doors.  
  
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"Hey. What took so long?" Marissa ran up to kiss him. "I missed you."  
"Your mom needed me to fix a light." Ryan said, almost bitterly, and sat down on an empty chair in Marissa' bedroom. She looked at him, inquisitively, and shrugged. He knew that he shouldn't let Julie Cooper get to him, but the truth was, he didn't want to be lied to.  
"Do you want to hang out in the pool house tonight?" Marissa asked, as she shoved her duffel bag away.  
"Did Summer have a baby?" He asked, straightforwardly, causing Marissa to wince in surprise.  
"What?" Marissa asked innocently.  
"Did Summer have a baby?"  
"Ryan, I'm not supposed to say anything."  
"I'm your boyfriend!"  
"And Summer is my best friend." Marissa pointed out, angrily.  
"Whatever." Ryan kicked at the chair, standing up.  
"Ryan, what's gotten into you?" Marissa asked gently, stepping closer to him.  
Ryan put on a smile, and shrugged, "Forget it."  
"Ok. So pool house?" Marissa asked and Ryan confirmed with a nod. Ryan shoved Julie's words to the back of his brain, for now, but he wasn't done yet with the whole honesty issue.  
  
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"Charlotte?" Seth asked himself, as he walked into the déjà vu filled Crab Shack.  
"Cohen!" The little girl screamed, jumping off the stool and waddling over to him, hugging his leg. Summer slapped herself silently, as she watched from the kitchen window. Charlotte had recognized Seth from the pictures Summer had showed Charlotte of high school and of course 'Seth' was too hard to say for Charlotte, but 'Cohen', as Summer always referred to him, was perfect for her to remember, especially in situations like these. But how did he know her name?  
Seth, without a word, picked up Charlotte, who giggled. He ran his hands through her dark hair and placed her back on the countertop, where Mindy was awkwardly wiping tables.  
"Where's your mommy?" Seth asked.  
"Mommy ran away from Cohen." Charlotte squealed, sliding into one of the chairs.  
Seth looked at the tiny girl, so full of life, strangely. The way he called her Cohen was slightly familiar, in fact, the girl herself was familiar. He looked up at Mindy.  
"I'm her mother," Mindy laughed, although the blonde looked nothing like Charlotte. Seth nodded skeptically. "Can I help you?"  
"Maybe. Is Summer Roberts working here?"  
"Summer . . ." Mindy's gaze fell upon the kitchen doors and Seth looked that way, only to see nothing, as Summer had quickly ducked down. "Never heard of her."  
"You sure?" Seth asked, annoyed that Nicole had been wrong.  
"Positive." Mindy gulped.  
"Thanks anyway." Next, he was on to interrogate his mother. Before leaving, he pet Charlotte's head. As he started walking towards the door, Charlotte screamed an all so familiar phrase to Seth Cohen, that caused him to jerk forward and then turn around to a nervous Mindy and a smiling Charlotte.  
"What did you say, Charlotte?" Seth gulped.  
"Ewwwwwwwwww!" Charlotte said again, mimicking her mother's exact tone. Summer frowned to herself from the kitchen. Charlotte mimicked people, that's how she learned. But this was too much.  
Seth stared at Charlotte wide-eyed, and then focused his attention on Mindy. "Are you sure Summer Roberts doesn't work here?"  
Mindy nodded and Seth just shoved his hands back into his pockets, smiling at Charlotte, and walked out of the Crab Shack.  
"Is he gone?" Summer called from the kitchen.  
"Yeah." Mindy said, checking the windows to the boardwalk.  
"Cohen was here, Mommy!" Charlotte laughed and clapped.  
Summer smiled at her daughter, scooping her up. "Yup."  
"Mommy not happy?" Charlotte asked, playing with her mother's hair.  
"Mommy's confused, that's all Charlie." She said, using her favorite nickname for Charlotte.  
"Don't be conf-oo-sed." Charlotte beamed up at her. "I like Cohen, Mommy."  
"I like him too, Charlie." Summer sighed, placing Charlotte back down on the countertop. 


	6. Promised

A/N: Hellooooo people! Well, I know a lot of you have questions about what exactly is going on and I promise, that soon, some of them will be answered. Until then - suffer.  
  
Chapter 6: Promised  
  
Kirsten sighed deeply as she glanced down at the caller id. The phone has been ringing a few times now, and out of annoyance, Kirsten finally answered.  
"Kirsten. I'm outside. We need to talk." Her father instructed and abruptly hung up, before Kirsten could say a word.  
Kirsten threw the phone down on the couch and went to the front door, hesitantly.  
"Hi dad." She muttered as he barged in.  
"Kirsten." He greeted her rudely as she shut the door behind him.  
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Kirsten asked sweetly as she and Caleb made their way to the kitchen.  
"No." Caleb spat out, sitting on one of the chairs. Kirsten rolled her eyes, pouring herself some coffee and sitting down across from him. "We have a problem."  
"Something wrong at work?" Kirsten asked, concerned.  
"No. This is family related."  
Kirsten gave him a clueless sigh and he started up, the rage growing with every word, "I cannot believe your reckless behavior Kirsten. First, you marry that Sandy Cohen. Second, you let in the Chino delinquent. And now, you're harboring teenage mothers for free. Do you even think about how this all makes me look?"  
"No." Kirsten said flatly, rolling her eyes. She had grown patient with her father, and half expected a rant from him about every flawed decision she makes. The whole Summer issue, was different though, he had never mentioned it before. Why did this have the stench of Julie Cooper's doing behind it? "First of all, Summer is paying rent for the apartment. I just reduced the rates a little."  
"From what I heard," Caleb bellowed down, trying to intimidate his daughter, "Ms. Roberts shouldn't be receiving any help from us."  
"Sorry I have a heart, dad." Kirsten muttered, pouring the rest of her coffee down the drain. "And she's not receiving any help from us, just me."  
"What about Seth?"  
"What about him?" Kirsten retorted, tired of her father's complaints.  
"You have been lying to him!"  
"I have not. . ."  
Caleb interrupted briskly, "And his reputation, god dammit Kirsten. If this got out, his whole future might be at stake."  
"His reputation? Don't you mean YOUR reputation? Let's face it Dad, Seth doesn't really care what Newport thinks of him." Kirsten stood up, practically screaming.  
"Kirsten, don't raise your voice at me. You may be childish in your endeavors, but I am still your father!"  
"Then start acting like one." Kirsten yelled, frustrated. Caleb stared at her blankly, then stood up.  
"I'll show myself out." He headed off towards the door.  
"Wait," Kirsten stood up, walking over to him. "What happens with Seth and Summer is their business, not yours." She spat at him, and he glared at her with his beady eyes until she opened the door for him. "Or Julie's."  
"What does Julie have to do with this?" Caleb asked, and by Kirsten's obvious expression, he continued. "We are in love, Kiki."  
"She's in love with your bank account."  
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Caleb stated, shaking his head and exiting the house. "Oh, and Kiki, eventually, Seth will find out."  
She slammed the door; cursing the minute she answered the phone today, and went off to go find Sandy to seek some comfort.  
  
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Seth shielded his eyes towards the front door and was surprised to see Caleb exiting. Caleb's scowl disappeared at the sight of his grandson and he hugged him quickly.  
"Seth!"  
"Hey Grandpa." Seth smiled, nervously. He personally didn't like Caleb that much, but hey, no one really did. Except, Julie, of course.  
"Where were you?" Caleb cocked his eye in question.  
"I was kind of, um, looking for someone."  
"A girl?" Caleb roared evilly.  
"Perhaps." Seth said, walking towards the door.  
"Seth," Caleb hollered, and Seth turned around to face him. "Your mother has something to tell you."  
"I have something to ask her." Seth muttered so only he could hear, waving at Caleb, who left. Seth opened the door, confused and frustrated, and went in search of Kirsten.  
  
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"Summer, slow down!" Marissa screamed into her cell phone. Ryan glared at Marissa with contemplation, watching her spread out on the bed, on her phone with Summer. He picked up a magazine, some girl's one, and flipped through the pictures as Marissa squealed.  
"Ok, well, why don't I come over?" Marissa laughed, glancing up at Ryan. "Ok, tonight. See you." She threw the phone into her purse and walked up to Ryan. "I'm going to Summer's, so I'll be at the pool house a little late."  
"Whatever." That seemed to be his new favorite word, thought Marissa.  
"Ok." She paused. "Are you pissed off at me or something?"  
"No." He smiled, looking up into her brown eyes. "I'm just not feeling that well, is all."  
"Oh," She smiled, hugging him. "Maybe I shouldn't come, then?"  
"Yeah, I don't think you should." He said, kissing her lips gently.  
"Ok." She said sadly. "Can you give me a ride to Summer's?"  
Ryan glared up at her and nodded, slowly, and she interlaced her hand with his as they went down the stairs to the Rover.  
"Where are you two off to?" Julie asked, from the bottom of the stairs.  
"I'm going to Summer's, Ryan's taking me." Marissa smiled anxiously.  
"Oh," Julie's smile faded. "Marissa, can I talk to you for, just a second." She looked at Ryan, who shrugged indifferently, and Marissa nodded.  
"I'll go start the car." Ryan suggested, leaving the Cooper's house.  
"What's up Mom?" Marissa asked, grabbing her denim jacket from the closet.  
"I was just wondering how Summer was."  
"She's ok."  
"It must be tough, having a baby and all. And not knowing who the father is, that's just awful!" Julie smiled deliciously, waiting for Marissa's response.  
Marissa's head jerked up. "She knows who the father is." She said sternly, opening the door.  
"Oh," Julie clapped her hands. "Good."  
Marissa smiled, ignoring the weird actions of her mother, and started to leave the house.  
"I just thought, a girl like Summer, couldn't keep up with details like that." Julie said softly, standing in the doorway behind Marissa, who spun around and glared at Julie, maliciously.  
"What do you mean, a girl like Summer?"  
"Oh, sweetie. I just meant, well, she gets around."  
"You don't even know her! She's not like that at all!" Marissa screamed, defensively.  
"I was just going by what I heard, Marissa." Julie stammered, seemingly confused by Marissa's rage.  
"I'm sorry." Marissa calmed herself down. "She knows who the father is. It's the only boy she ever slept with." Marissa bit her lip, knowing she had said too much, and went to the Rover, before another word could slip out.  
But it was too late, as Julie put two and two together and laughed hysterically, watching Caleb walk back from the Cohen's mansion. Finally, she could get revenge on Ryan AND Kirsten. Life was just too good for Julie Cooper.  
  
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"Mom!" Seth called out into the large, empty house.  
"Coming!" He heard his mother laugh from upstairs. He shuddered, not even wanting to think about what his parents were doing. He sat down on the couch, waiting for his mother, when finally he heard a parade of light footsteps down the stairs and Kirsten appeared in the living room.  
"Sweetie?" She asked, collapsing on an armchair.  
"Guess who I ran to." Seth smiled sarcastically, kicking his shoes off.  
"Your grandfather?" Kirsten rolled her eyes, sympathetically.  
"He said you needed to tell me something." Seth stared at her, patiently. She froze and then revived her movement by crossing her legs. "Well, he's insane." She laughed.  
"Ok, well I need to ask you something then." Seth stated, ignoring Kirsten's frozen awkwardness, figuring it was one of those weird mom things.  
"Shoot." She sighed, closing her eyes.  
"I met Charlotte's mother." Seth let his voice linger, and Kirsten's eyes shot open.  
"Seth," She bit her tongue, trying to ignore what Caleb was saying about Seth eventually finding out. "I meant to tell you." Seth stared at her, a confused reaction spread across his lips and Kirsten let her words sink in.  
"You were going to tell me that Charlotte's mom works at the Crab Shack?" Seth asked, out of confusion and suspicion.  
"Wait." Kirsten looked at him intensely, trying to figure out if he knew.  
"Waiting. . ." Seth sighed, giving up all hope on making sense out of nothing.  
"I thought you said you met Charlotte's mother." Kirsten's eyes got all squinty, which happened when she was confused and bitter.  
"I did. The blonde waitress at Crab Shack." Seth continued, watching the words hit Kirsten.  
"Blonde? Oh, yes!" Kirsten nodded, confused even more, but hid it well. Maybe, he didn't know.  
"Mindy." He said, recalling the girl's name tag.  
"Right, Mindy." Kirsten laughed.  
"What's Mindy's last name?" Seth asked, smiling eerily at Kirsten.  
"Um," Kirsten paused.  
"Mindy isn't Charlotte's mom, is she?" It had dawned on him, slowly, but he had started to put the pieces together. "I also bumped into someone else, today." He mouthed the words, leaning back on the couch, watching Kirsten's every move. "Nicole Roberts."  
Kirsten's stomach dropped. "Oh, how is she?"  
"Fine. I asked her about Summer, and she told me to ask you." He just remembered Nicole's words, which he had misplaced amongst all the "who's Charlotte's mommy" confusion.  
"Oh." Kirsten adjusted herself, clearly uncomfortable with this.  
"Why would she say that? Why would you know something about Summer that her own stepmother wouldn't?" Seth asked, angrily, trying to fill the holes of this problem.  
"Because," She started, trying to find the right words. "Because I rented Summer an apartment."  
Now it was Seth's stomach that dropped and he jumped up, his rage building up. He was practically having one of Summer's famous rage blackouts, which would have been funny if he wasn't so pissed off at his mother.  
"How could you not tell me?" He asked, his face contorted from anger.  
"Because she begged me not to!" Kirsten stood up, her eyes pleading with Seth. "I promised her, Seth."  
"I'm your son!" Seth screamed at her, quickly putting his shoes back on.  
"I'm so sorry Seth, but she made me promise. She had a reason behind it."  
"And what was that, to hurt me?" Seth shouted once more, his eyes feeling sore, as if they would over flood with tears.  
"Seth," His mother said gently. "That's the last thing she would ever do, and you know that."  
"That's funny." Seth said, walking towards the door of the house. "Because that's exactly what she did." He slammed the door behind him, leaving Kirsten a nervous wreck on the couch. 


	7. Kirsten Comes Clean

A/N: OK. LISTEN TO ME. THIS IS FICTION. COMPLETE FICTION. Secondly - I know that right now it seems that Kirsten not telling Seth about Summer is ludicrous, but I swear, all will be explained and it will make some sort of sense. By the way, I don' know about your parents, but my parents keep secrets from me in order to protect me *hint hint*. Lastly, I had said that this would be a dramatic story, meaning like a soap opera. in the first chapter. So. yea. For everyone who gave nice reviews, thanks! And..this story is supposed to be the kind where you have to figure things out slowly. I'm dragging it out purposely. Thanks, and keep reviewing!  
  
Chapter 7: Kirsten Comes Clean  
  
Summer rocked back and forth to the beat of the radio propped up on the washing machine. Charlotte was sitting on top of the counter in the tiny, dim laundry room of their apartment building, playing around with Summer's bag of laundry quarters. Summer kept glancing down at her watch, making sure she didn't spend too much time down here, because Marissa was on her way.  
Summer awoke from her daze at the loud beeping of the dryer, reminding her that it was done. Charlotte had also looked up and Summer tapped her nose and started piling their clean clothes into her laundry basket.  
"Come on, Charlie!" Summer smiled at her, picking her up and placing her down on the floor. Charlotte waddled in front of her, towards their apartment, Summer following suit, dragging the overfilled laundry basket. Summer unlocked the apartment door, as Charlotte leaned against her leg. Swinging the door open, Charlotte charged in, running to the couch in the living room, grabbing her dolls on the couch and instantly amusing herself.  
Summer kicked the laundry basket into her bedroom, shutting the door so Marissa couldn't see the outrageous mess in there, and went to the kitchen to microwave some pasta she had brought back from the Crab Shack for dinner. As she pressed down on the buttons of Kirsten's old microwave, she smiled to herself. Thank god for Kirsten Cohen. She could still remember that night she had went to Kirsten's, confused and lost.  
Summer was six months pregnant, and had no where else to go. Her father, who shockingly didn't care about Summer or her baby, kicked her out of the house as soon as she had started to show and with the little money she had left, and the money she got from selling all her college books, she had been staying at a greasy motel on the outskirts of Newport. The only person who she had contact with was Coop, who called her at least once every day, to check up on her.  
That night, Summer decided to take a drive through Newport, thinking back on her simple life back then. On impulse, she drove up his street. She knew he was back at UCLA and probably incredibly angry at her, but she didn't care. There had been a huge thunderstorm that night, no surprise to her, because it always rained when Summer was in trouble. No wonder California's rain levels have skyrocketed recently.  
She had parked her car, back then she still had her Jaguar, right in front of the Cohen's house. The baby was kicking, but she paid no mind, as she stared up at the house, debating whether or not to knock on the door. Something was definitely missing from Summer's brain, as she ran through the rain to the Cohen's front door. The bell rang once, then twice, and she knew she had no escape. What was she going to say when Seth's parents opened the door? Oh hey, Mr. and Mrs. Cohen. I got knocked up and ditched your son, but I just came by to say what's up, oh, and maybe borrow twenty bucks, because, like, who knew babies were so expensive?  
No, she obviously had to play it by ear, because she very well couldn't say that. The door opened slowly, and she sighed heavily in anticipation.  
"Summer?" Seth's father, Sandy, had asked, confused. "Come in." He said, noticing her damp hair from the rain.  
She stepped inside, smiling graciously, hugging herself tightly in Seth's old denim jacket. She wore it all the time. Well at least, when she first left, she did. Now, it was safely tucked in the back of her closet, along with everything else she had of Seth's.  
"Summer?" Kirsten asked from the top of the stairs, flying down them like a madwoman. Summer winced at Kirsten's face, which was pretty angry looking. She knew Seth and his parents were pretty close, and that he probably informed them that Summer was MIA. Kirsten's anger faded as she laid eyes upon Summer's stomach, her eyes practically popping out. "How many months?" She stammered, leading Summer to the living room and sitting down on a couch with her. Sandy, showed some sort of concern, but left the women to talk and went to the kitchen.  
"Six." Summer said, weeping. Why did she force herself to do things like this? She placed herself in such an awkward situation. "Kirsten, I didn't no where else to go. I have no one." She cried, placing her head in her hands, covering her tears.  
Kirsten wrapped her arm around Summer, stroking her hair as she cried. "What about your parents?"  
"They kicked me out." Summer sighed, wiping her eyes and looking up into Kirsten's sympathetic ones. "You can't tell Seth!"  
"What?" Kirsten asked, surprised by this random command. "He's my son, Summer. And if this baby is his, then," She started, but Summer's head bobbled in interruptive reply.  
"It's not his!" The tears rolled again, and she plunged herself into Kirsten's arms.  
Kirsten stared at the girl in her arms, sadly. "Where are you staying, Summer?"  
"Motel." Summer's words were muffled by Kirsten's arms, but Kirsten nodded in understanding.  
"Listen," Kirsten lifted Summer off her shoulders, "You need to get a job. You need to get a place to live, I can help. But most importantly, you need to tell Seth."  
"I can't," Summer began, her face red and throbbing from crying so much, "You don't understand, Kirsten."  
"Then explain it to me."  
"If I tell Seth about the baby, he'll feel responsible, whether he's the father or not. You know how stubborn he is! I can't risk Seth giving up his future because of my mistakes. I love him so much, Kirsten. I can't let him ruin his life because I ruined mine." Kirsten watched her with every word, only feeling more and more sorry for her. "Please don't tell him, Kirsten. You don't have to help me, I'll manage." She quickly stood up, but Kirsten wrapped her arms around her, forcing her down, engulfing her in a hug as Summer kept sobbing.  
"I understand, Summer, but I can't lie to him."  
"Then don't. Just don't say anything. Please, Kirsten. I have no one else. I have no one else. . ." She kept muttering. This was truly Summer's weakest moment. She had never relied on anyone, not even Seth. She never trusted anyone so much, not even Seth. But here she was, pouring her heart out to someone who was practically a stranger, begging for help.  
Kirsten gulped her words down, guiltily. She couldn't lie to her son, but she had to help this poor girl. And it's not as if Summer's intentions aren't honorable. She was trying to protect Seth, trying to ensure he finished school. Kirsten nodded slowly, calming Summer down, "I won't tell him." She promised and Summer smiled softly, resting in Kirsten's embrace, feeling safe and secure for the first time in six months.  
Kirsten smiled, happy that Summer had calmed down, but concerned. She knew that keeping something so important from Seth would hurt her and him in the long run, but she promised Summer. And Kirsten Cohen never breaks a promise. Yet, still, she couldn't help but think she was making a huge mistake by helping Summer without telling Seth? After all, he called almost every day, sounding completely miserable about her leaving him. If only he knew, but of course, now, as Kirsten helped Summer out of the house and to her car, she knew that it was too late to break her word to Summer. She saw the spark of hope back in Summer's eyes as she started her car, smiling as she drove away. Kirsten silently prayed that Summer would be alright, that she could help her in any way. But deep down in her heart, she knew she was making a mistake. After all, even Kirsten Cohen makes mistakes.  
  
Summer sighed as she placed the pasta on three plates and she heard Marissa knock on her apartment door. Every time she thought of how dumb and young she was when she went to Kirsten. How she had manipulated Kirsten into lying to her son. How she had lied to Kirsten, herself. Summer sighed, glancing at Charlotte as she opened the door to greet Marissa, silently praying that Charlotte would never make the mistakes she had.  
  
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"Seth!" Ryan shouted. He was on his way back from dropping Marissa's at Summer's, when he spotted Seth skating down the street.  
"Hey." Seth called, sadly, as Ryan slowed down, approaching him.  
"Need a ride?" Ryan asked, opening the door. Seth shrugged, throwing his board into the back as he climbed in and slammed the door.  
"So guess what?" Seth said, crossing his arms in anger. Ryan waited for him to say whatever was bothering him. "Summer lives in Newport." Ryan winced. "And not only that, but my own mother, Ryan, my own mother got her an apartment! My mother has known where Summer is for the past two years."  
"Maybe," Ryan said, learning this new information. "Maybe she has some sort of explanation." He knew Kirsten would never purposely lie to Seth, unless there was some valid excuse.  
"I didn't stick around to ask." Seth laughed, bitterly.  
"Seth," Ryan cleared his throat. "I never asked Marissa about Summer before today."  
"Uh-huh. . ." Seth eyed, Ryan, his eyes scrutinizing Ryan's every word.  
"I just dropped Marissa off at Summer's." Ryan said, calmly. He didn't care if he promised Marissa not to say anything. He wasn't going to lie to his best friend, when his own mother was already lying to him.  
"Oh." Seth let this sink in. "Thanks, for being honest with me." Seth said, calmly, focusing on the Newport scenery that passed him by.  
"There's more." Ryan said, shifting his eyes from Seth to the window in front of him. Seth nodded for him to continue.  
"She's changed, Seth. A lot." Ryan said, biting his lip, unsure of exactly how much he should tell Seth himself.  
"What does that mean?" Seth kicked the dashboard in front of him out of frustration.  
"I think you should go to her." Ryan said, parking in the Cohen's driveway.  
"That's genius." Seth said, hopping out of the car. "Ryan, I would if I had the strength to, but she left me. She obviously doesn't want me to know where she is, since she made my mom promise not to say anything. I can't just show up at her door, can I?"  
Ryan gave him a look that made Seth's stomach rumble. He didn't know if he could stand to see Summer again. It might make all his hatred of her break down, and he didn't want to get hurt again.  
"First off, I think you should talk to Kirsten. There has to be a reason she didn't tell you." Ryan said, walking towards the pool house.  
"Well, she had mentioned something about promising Summer, like I said. But, I'm her son!" Seth screamed to him, whipping around as he heard the Cohen's front door open, a weak looking Kirsten smiling at him gently in the doorway.  
"Seth, can we talk?" She asked, timidly.  
"Whatever." Seth shrugged, waving goodbye to Ryan, who disappeared into the pool house. Seth trudged up to the house, passing by Kirsten, who shut the door behind him and pulled his arm gently, causing him to turn around and face her. In all his life, he had never seen his mother cry. But, it was obvious to him she had been crying. Her eyes were red and her skin was splotchy. Never, had he seen his mother look so weak. It almost reminded him of high school, that period of time when Summer was in denial of her feelings of him, and was crying every night to sleep over it. Every morning, her eyes looked just as Kirsten's looked at that moment. He hugged Kirsten, who just smiled awkwardly, trying to remember why she had promised Summer she wouldn't tell Seth in the first place. Seth pulled back, looking at Kirsten.  
"What's Summer's address?" Seth demanded, more then asking.  
"Seth, I--," She stopped herself, running over to her phonebook and pulling out a page. She handed it to him. "I'm sorry I never told you."  
"I forgive you." He said, staring down at the paper.  
"She was trying to protect you." Kirsten whispered.  
"Protect me from what?" Seth demanded again, grabbing the keys to the Rover from the tiny candy dish in the foyer.  
"You'll see." That was all Kirsten needed to say, realizing that Seth was going to go see Summer. "She's been through a lot, just," Seth glared at her, as if to say 'and I haven't?', "You know what? It's your life." Kirsten laughed, giving up and Seth kissed her cheek gently in appreciation, shoving the address into his pocket and running out the door. For the first time in two years, he was going to see Summer Roberts, the love of his life and he could barely hear his own thoughts over his rapid heartbeat. 


	8. Seeing Her

A/N: I've been reading all your reviews and some of you are right on the money, and some have been fooled! This chapter will be a good one, and read it carefully, as not to be fooled! LOL. Just read.thanks.  
  
Chapter 8: Seeing Her  
  
"She's beautiful, Summer." Marissa chimed, hardly able to keep her eyes off of Charlotte, who had resumed playing with her dolls on the couch after stuffing her face with pasta.  
"I know." Summer squealed.  
"She looks so much like you." Marissa said, finally focusing her gaze on Summer, who was sitting at the opposite end of the kitchen counter, polishing off the last of her pasta. "Sum. . ." Marissa's voice trailed off.  
"Coop?" Summer looked up, wiping her face gently with a napkin.  
"It's been two years." Marissa said, more to herself, and Summer's eyes became hazy and lucid from the thought.  
"I'm so sorry, Coop." Summer said, standing up and placing their plates in the sink.  
"I'm not the one you need to say sorry to." Marissa smiled, getting up to help dry off the plates.  
"Coop," Summer whined, handing her a plate to dry off.  
Marissa took it, drying it with the towel she had spotted on the counter, "We don't have to talk about it."  
"Good." Summer smiled, returning to the dishes.  
"You've grown up so much, Summer. It's scary!" Marissa laughed, putting the dry plates on the counter.  
"I know. It took awhile to learn how to take care of myself." Summer laughed, shyly, almost embarrassed of how spoiled she had been. "I mean, not only with diapers and stuff, but do you know how many sweaters I shrunk before I realized there were handling directions on the shirt tags?"  
Marissa let out a relieved laugh, happy to see her friend joking. They finished the dishes and sat back down at the counter.  
"What are you doing to make money?" Marissa asked, supportively.  
Summer rolled her eyes and grunted, "I have Ryan's old job."  
Marissa and Summer both laughed, savoring the moment.  
"I can't believe you have a job." Marissa laughed. "Seth would be so shocked if he --," She stopped herself, internally scowling at mentioning his name.  
Summer pretended as if she didn't hear, "I can't believe you are still with Ryan!"  
"Yeah." Marissa frowned, surprising herself as well as Summer. "He's been acting strange all day."  
"Ryan acting strange, that's new to you?" Summer joked.  
"I guess not!" Marissa laughed. "I don't think he trusts me."  
"How can he not trust you?" Summer stated. "You are the most trustworthy person I know!"  
Marissa felt the sting of Summer's words, recalling how she had spilt Summer's whereabouts to Ryan, knowing he would blab to Seth. She forced a smile and leaned her head against her arm.  
"Mommy!" Charlotte squealed from the couch, causing Summer to lose all thoughts and jump to her.  
"Charlie?" Summer asked.  
"Is Mah-wissa friends with Cohen?" Charlotte asked, casting her dolls aside. Marissa and Summer stared at each other, dumbfounded, at how such a tiny girl could be so perceptive of the people around her. It definitely wasn't from her mother, thought Marissa.  
"Yes, Charlotte, I am." Marissa said calmly, her eyes still on Summer, who patted her daughter's head and returned to Marissa in the kitchen.  
"She's so smart." Summer said, sliding into her chair.  
"How does she know that name?" Marissa asked, intrigued.  
"Cohen?" Summer laughed and Marissa nodded in response, spreading a smile. "Well, I showed Charlie some old photo albums, including Prom pictures and he was there. She asked me who he was, and I said that's Seth Cohen. She couldn't say Seth, so she just called him Cohen. Plus, she's adorable and mimics everything I say. Today, she actually said "ew" to Seth!" Summer laughed, then frowned quickly, realizing she never told Marissa about her run in with Seth. The truth was, she didn't want to hear another soul reminding her that she should come clean with him. She knew she should, but she couldn't. It wasn't easier when other people accused of her hurting him.  
Marissa just looked at Summer sadly, and Summer continued.  
"He came into the Crab Shack. I hid, and made a coworker act as Charlie's mother. The weird thing is, he knew her." Summer said, as it dawned on her. How did Seth know Charlotte? It was almost as if Charlotte could read her mind when she started crying, forcing Summer and Marissa to jump and run to her.  
Summer laughed slightly when she saw that one of Charlotte's dolls head had popped off and fixed it for her daughter, who smiled. Marissa just looked on, with slight pride, at how well adjusted Summer was for everything she had been through.  
"Didn't you say that Kirsten watches Charlotte for you once in awhile?" Marissa asked, fitting the puzzle pieces together slowly, scratching her head.  
Summer nodded and she was clearly doing the same as Marissa.  
"Seth ran into Charlotte at Kirsten's." Summer said, Marissa nodding along.  
"And, Ryan saw Charlotte and you, together, right?" Marissa smacked her lips. "I am such a moron."  
"Why?" Summer asked, placing her hand on the presently distraught Marissa.  
"I lied to Ryan. Well, sort of. I wouldn't tell him why you left, not exactly. I said it was family issues. But, I didn't know he had seen Charlotte already. He knew that I knew, and he was waiting for the truth. And I didn't tell the truth." Marissa clapped her hands, finally figuring out why Ryan was so angry with her.  
"Boys." Summer said, rolling her eyes.  
"For a second there," Marissa laughed. "You reminded me of the Summer Roberts I used to know."  
"Let's hope that doesn't happen again." Summer smiled, bitterly, rolling her eyes once more.  
Before Marissa could reply, someone knocked on the door.  
"Who could that be?" Summer asked, laughing, leaving Marissa with Charlotte.  
  
He had never been this nervous in his life. Ok, that was lie. The first few times he had been with Summer, he was just as Summer. Especially, the first time they had sex. God, what a nightmare. But it got better. This thought caused him to smile, which he wiped away just in time as the door opened. He wasn't expecting to see her, which is strange, since he was knocking on her door. She had been laughing, he saw the familiar tears of joy in the creases of her chocolate brown eyes, but when she laid them on his, she had stopped, her face slowly drooping down into a stare of disbelief. He cleared his throat, but was unable to say anything. He stared at her, she stared at him and to break the silence, Marissa came to the door, holding Charlotte in her arms and in unison, Charlotte and Marissa screamed, "Cohen!".  
Except Marissa's 'Cohen' was more shocked, and Charlotte's was happy and she kicked herself free from Marissa's arms and ran to Seth, wrapping her arms around his leg. Her stared down at her, unable to react, and back at Marissa, who now had Summer's dumbfound expression plastered on her face.  
"Come Cohen!" Charlotte pleaded, pulling down on his arm. A look of confusion poured over her face and Seth's, who now wondered why Charlotte was in Summer's apartment. "Mommy, invite Cohen in!" Charlotte screamed and Seth was sure his heart stopped beating.  
"Charlotte," Marissa cooed, "Why don't we go for a walk?" Marissa held her hand out, pushing past Seth.  
"Okay!" Charlotte squealed, her attention span was very short.  
Marissa picked up Charlotte, looking back at Summer with a dazed expression and Summer sighed. Marissa wandered down the hallway with Charlotte in her arms, who babbled on about Barbie dolls, Marissa nodding, hoping Seth and Summer would be able to actually speak.  
Seth watched Marissa turn the corner and then landed his eyes back on hers. He cleared his throat again, trying to speak, trying to remember what it was like to form words.  
"I'm so sorry." Summer sighed, tears of joy flowing into tears of sadness. "I'm so sorry." She stared at him. She had been waiting for two years for this. She had pictured this in her mind, a thousand times. She prayed that he wasn't mad, that just like in her picture perfect world, he wouldn't be mad.  
"So am I." Seth said, turning himself around quickly and back down the hallway, leaving Summer speechless and upset. He just couldn't do this right now. He knew that when he saw Summer, he wouldn't be mad anymore, that all his defenses would melt. But seeing her so different; Ryan was right, she had changed. She wore no make up and was wearing plain jeans and a plain shirt, her hair tied back, product free. But she was still breathtakingly beautiful when she had opened that door, and it killed Seth to know that after two years, after her ditching him, after this revelation that Summer had a child, that she could still make him weak in the knees. The only thing he could do was run away, weak kneed and all. He just wasn't ready to forgive Summer, but for a second there, he was seriously considering it. 


	9. Nothing Left To Say

A/N: Ok. [Emma] - your review was practically amazingly accurate. *hint*  
Next: Thanks for no more bashing reviews and I'm trying as hard as I can to update. I had written chapter 9, but accidentally forgot to save it and poof it was gone, so I had to rewrite it. But that's ok, because I really didn't like how I wrote it in the first place. I debated whether or not to have Summer run after Seth, or something like that, and I hope you like how I decided to go about it. ENJOY! Oh and from now on, chapter titles will be after songs. Just saying that for copyright purposes.  
  
Chapter 9: Nothing Left To Say  
  
Summer watched him leave.  
  
She just stood there, speechless, and watched Seth Cohen leave.  
  
You couldn't blame her; she was in complete shock. She was frozen stiff, not knowing what to do or say. There was nothing left to say. Her dreams didn't predict Seth's actions. She saw the pain, the frustration, the mistrust in his eyes. She had heard the anger in his voice; the disappointment in tone. She had absorbed this all in, swallowing back the burning lump that had formed slowly in her throat. Blinking slowly, Summer watched Seth Cohen disappear down the hallway.  
  
She couldn't let him slip away from her. She couldn't NOT go after him.  
  
And that's why she ran after him.  
  
That's why Summer made the best decision she could've made.  
  
He needed to know the truth.  
  
And she was finally strong enough to tell him.  
  
************  
  
Marissa and Charlotte had somehow gotten lost in the familiar hallways of Summer's building. The blue flowered wallpaper on all the walls was making Marissa dizzy, not to mention the incoherent babbling of Summer's mini me, and she was ever so thankful when her cell phone rang, breaking Charlotte's rant about why she loved Barbie more then Ken.  
Charlotte's head jerked up at the sound, and she wandered down the hallway, tracing the flowers on the walls with her tiny fingers.  
Marissa glanced down at the screen of her cell phone, sighing as she saw "Mom" flashing across the screen, and held the phone to her ear.  
"Marissa, darling," Her mother began, "I'm so sorry for what happened earlier. To make up for it, I was wondering if you could invite Summer to Christmas dinner."  
Marissa smiled in astonishment, and agreed with her mother that it was a great idea, although she wasn't sure if Julie Cooper's intentions were all that dandy, but still, Summer probably was planning on spending the holidays alone, and everybody wants somebody on Christmas.  
Marissa ended the call after promising her mother she would be home soon, so they could talk. About what, she wasn't sure, but she was proud her mother was finally taking initiative to be nice to Marissa, and Ryan.  
Marissa smiled to herself and walked after Charlotte, who, out of boredom, had started pressing all of the elevator buttons at once, delighted just to see them glow.  
***************************  
"Kirsten," Ryan said, entering the kitchen where Sandy and Kirsten were sitting down, enjoying their meal of cold French fries and burgers. Kirsten had tried to cook, at least. Ryan noticed the burnt chicken in the frying pan, laughing to himself.  
"Ryan!" Kirsten squealed. "Want some McDonalds?" She patted the empty chair for him to sit down upon, which he did, shaking his head in response to her question. He didn't really have much appetite at the moment.  
"Can I ask for some advice?" Ryan asked, timidly.  
Kirsten's face lit up, as if giving Ryan advice was an honor, and nodded happily. Sandy watched on, swirling his fries into some ketchup.  
"Well," Ryan said slowly, trying to place his words correctly. "It has to do with Marissa."  
"Woman troubles?" Sandy laughed and Kirsten hit his leg lightly, giving him a threatening look.  
"Sort of." Ryan nodded, looking straight into Kirsten's eyes. "And it has to do with Summer."  
Sandy stared blankly at Ryan, and then Kirsten, who smiled at him with ease.  
"What do you want to know?" Kirsten asked, figuring Seth had told Ryan, because Seth tells Ryan everything.  
"Everything." Ryan asked, his eyes lowering, demanding the truth and Kirsten sighed in defeat.  
"Ok. Where should I start?" Kristen said to herself, but out loud and Sandy's ears perked up at this. Kirsten hadn't really let Sandy in on all the details, because he had fought with her on the decision to not tell Seth.  
"How did you end up helping Summer?" Ryan asked, grabbing a fry from Kirsten's plate. "That's a good place to start."  
"She was about six months pregnant." Kirsten started. "She never really told me much about what happened before that, so I don't know anything before the night she came to me, except that she had been staying in a motel and was running out of money."  
Ryan cut in, "Why was she living in a motel?"  
"Her parents kicked her out." Sandy filled him in and Ryan felt a tiny slice of sadness for Summer. He nodded at Kirsten to continue.  
"She came to me, and," Kirsten paused, thinking about how hard it was to retell this to someone, "I have never seen Summer that way before, Ryan."  
Ryan leaned on his arm, letting Kirsten's words slip into him slowly.  
"She was a wreck. She was so weak, so tired looking. I had to help her. She kept saying how she didn't know what to do, or where to go." Kirsten's eyes wilted when she thought of how helpless Summer had been, "I helped her get an apartment, but she made me promise not to say anything to Seth. I fought with her on it, but you have to understand," She paused, searching Ryan's face for his reaction, "She didn't want Seth to ruin his future."  
By Ryan's inquisitive expression, she explained. "She didn't want Seth to resume responsibility, because she knew he would drop out and never have any of his dreams accomplished. Ryan, when you love someone, you want the best for him. And even though Summer's demands may not have been how I would have done it, who was I to argue with her, when all she wanted was the best for my son?" Sandy wrapped his arm around Kirsten, who had begun to sob towards the end of her words.  
"I don't blame you." Ryan said. "And I'm sure Seth doesn't."  
"I hope so." Kirsten nodded, eating a fry and leaning onto Sandy. "I would have definitely told Seth if he were the father." Kirsten added, wiping her eyes clean.  
Ryan gulped, "He's not the father?"  
"That's what made me not tell him," Kirsten said. "Summer told me he wasn't the father, but she knew that wouldn't matter to him."  
"Is she sure? I mean," Ryan stammered, not sure what to think. Had Summer cheated on Seth? Who else could be the father? He thought for a moment, I could ask Marissa, but threw away that idea. Marissa hadn't been honest about Summer even having a child, so why would she clue him in on the paternity?  
Kirsten nodded. "Summer wouldn't lie about something like that."  
  
*********************************  
  
"Seth," She let his name crawl out of her throat, but it sounded more like a whisper then a scream. "Seth!" She screamed again, falling down on the floor. Why did seeing him, talking to him, or nearly thinking of him always make her into a weakling? She grew physically tired when he was around; she couldn't feel her bones or hear her own thoughts.  
But it had worked, and he had turned around, slowly. He stared at Summer, who was rocking back and forth on the floor like a tortured child. She was crying, full out crying, and he couldn't resist that. He couldn't stand to see her so broken, so miserable.  
He walked over to her slowly, not being able to control his actions due to extreme matters of weakness he had around her. As they once use to say jokingly, they were each other's kryptonite. But joke or not, they really were.  
He stretched out his hand to her, which she ignored dismissively, and she moaned slowly, clutching her stomach. She curled up into a tiny ball, still rocking back and forth. She felt sick, as if she could hurl at any moment.  
"Summer?" Seth asked, kneeling beside her concerned.  
She looked up at him, between rocking, her eyes staring at his apologetically and things started to get hazy.  
  
She tried to call to him for help, but before she knew it, she couldn't see straight or hear his words.  
  
Everything faded to black.  
  
"Summer?" Seth asked again, his voice heightening in distress. He shook her gently, but she didn't move. He could see she was still breathing, but her tears had stopped with the rocking, and she looked like Snow White, sleeping in her glass coffin.  
  
He looked down the hallway to see if Marissa was close, but he didn't see or hear her.  
  
Slowly, he picked up Summer off the floor and carried her into the apartment, placing her on the couch gently.  
  
Clearly, she had passed out. Out of stress or something like that, Seth thought.  
  
He sat down on the opposing armchair, watching her breath in gently and breath out again.  
  
He leaned down next to her, wrapping a nearby blanket around her.  
  
"I forgive you." He whispered softly, although she wouldn't be able to hear him anyway, and kissed her cheek. He sat back down on the armchair, watching her.  
  
He leaned back, depressed, knowing that he had surrendered to the powers of Summer Roberts. But then again, maybe that wasn't a bad thing, since he couldn't remember him being happier in the past two years without her, then he was right now, simply watching her sleep.  
  
That didn't really surprise him though.  
  
Summer was always more appealing and angelic when she wasn't actually speaking, or awake, for that matter.  
  
And he liked her that way. 


	10. Better Late Then Forever

Chapter 10: Better Late Then Forever  
  
"What happened to her?" Marissa exclaimed at the sight of Summer's seemingly lifeless body on the couch. Charlotte ran past her into the apartment, towards Summer, while Seth walked over to Marissa to explain.  
"She passed out." Seth said, calmly.  
"Why did she --?" Marissa began but was cut off by Charlotte's cries.  
"Mommy, wake up!" Charlotte poked Summer, who yawned unconsciously, and turned over.  
Seth ran over to Charlotte, who started to sob loudly, picking her up and leaning her tiny head on his shoulder. He rubbed slow circles on her back, which made Charlotte really sleepy and she stuck her thumb in her mouth, content with her position.  
Marissa smiled at him gently, amazed with his ability to calm the girl down so fast. She sat down, looking up at Seth, who laughed a little for some relief and sat back down on the armchair.  
"I'll watch Charlotte," Seth began. "Why don't you go to Ryan? I'm sure he misses you." Seth rolled his eyes playfully.  
"Actually," Marissa's eyes sparkled at the mention of Ryan's name. "I need to talk to him anyway." She got up, grabbing her purse from the kitchen counter, then looked back at Summer hesitantly. "Are you sure?"  
"Yeah, go ahead." Seth said, leaning back with Charlotte in his arms.  
  
"Alright." Marissa muttered and left the apartment quickly.  
Seth watched Summer for a while, but she barely stirred. He was extremely weary of the whole chain of events today, and could hear himself snoring slightly, and along with Charlotte and Summer, he fell in a deep sleep.  
  
*****************************  
  
"What was it that you needed to talk about concerning Marissa?" Kirsten asked as she threw away the last of the McDonald's leftovers. Sandy had left to do some paperwork and Ryan was watching Kirsten clean, something she rarely does, but when she does attempt to do it, it's certainly entertaining.  
"Oh yeah," Ryan cleared his throat, "It's nothing."  
"It can't be nothing, or you wouldn't have mentioned it." Kirsten said flatly, sliding back into her chair.  
"Fine, well," Ryan started, "I straight out asked Marissa about Summer, and she basically lied to me. Well, she wouldn't tell me. But I already knew about Summer having a baby, and, I just don't think I can trust Marissa, and," Ryan took a breath.  
"You've been spending way too much time with Seth. You're rambling!" Kirsten laughed and Ryan nodded, pathetically.  
"And," He said sternly. "Julie pointed out to me how I'm always honest with Marissa, and then she's not honest with me, and," Before he could finish, Kirsten's eyes bulged with rage and she stood up.  
"Julie, as in Cooper?"  
"Know any other Julie's?" Ryan asked.  
"Whatever Julie Cooper said to you, I wouldn't trust for a second. Marissa would never lie to you, or keep something from you, unless it was serious. And Summer, again, was just trying to protect Seth. If you knew, you would have told him, am I wrong?" Kirsten started to scream defensively, slamming her fist on the counter.  
"You're right." Ryan said, a little shocked from Kirsten's sudden anger.  
Kirsten burst out into a smile, throwing Ryan an apologetic look.  
"Sorry," Kirsten said calmly, "I just can't stand Julie Cooper."  
"I can see that." Ryan said, glancing at the abused counter top.  
"Trust me Ryan," Kirsten said coolly, "Julie shouldn't be talking about honesty. She's always tangled up in a mess of lies."  
  
*************************************  
  
"So, tell me again why you invited the hussy to Christmas dinner?" Caleb purred into Julie's ear, lying down next to her on their bed.  
"Caleb, sweetie," Julie kissed his forehead. "Have you forgotten that we are eating Christmas dinner at the Cohen's?"  
Caleb smiled evilly at this revelation, kissing Julie passionately, and leaning back to glance at his evil new wife.  
"I knew you'd be pleased." Julie cooed, lying back down.  
"Throw tension filled drama queens in a room with my Kiki," Caleb smiled to himself gingerly, "And you can feel the sparks cut into their skin." He rubbed his hands together in approval, wrapping his arm around Julie.  
"So true." Julie smiled. "It will be just like Thanksgiving, a few years back."  
Caleb nodded in agreement, kissing Julie's cheek again.  
"Let's just hope Kirsten can keep herself sober this time." Julie cackled maliciously.  
"Oh, Jules," Caleb muttered sarcastically, "It's so much more interesting when she's drunk off her ass!"  
  
************************************  
  
"I'll get it." Ryan said to Kirsten softly, hesitantly making his way to the door, where the bell had just rung.  
"I checked the pool house, but you weren't there. So I figured," Marissa rambled nervously, swaying around in her spot on the foyer as she entered the Cohen's mansion.  
Kirsten walked in on a stumbling Marissa, greeting her with a smile. "I'll leave you two alone."  
Marissa smiled gratuitously and Ryan led her to the kitchen, where she placed her purse on the counter and took up Kirsten's now empty seat.  
"So," Marissa said, not sure where to start, "You know that if you were angry with me, you could tell me. I want us to be honest with each other - always."  
"So do I." Ryan said strongly, sitting down next to her. "So, let's start with you telling me about Summer."  
"Fine." Marissa said, angrily. "What do you want to know?"  
"Well, I heard a lot from Kirsten. But, I'd like to know about when she first left."  
"Fine, but you have to promise me you won't say a word to Seth." She noticed Ryan shift his eyes and repeated, threateningly, "Not a word."  
"I promise." Ryan said, cupping her tiny hand in his, smiling with some effort. He didn't want to lie to Seth, but he figured eventually, Summer would tell him the truth.  
Marissa sighed, standing up and pacing the kitchen, "Remember how Summer acted really strange, a few weeks before she left?"  
"Yeah." Ryan nodded, in remembrance of Summer's strange behavior.  
"Well," Marissa sat back down again, "A few days before she left, Summer came to me and asked if I would go to a clinic with her. An abortion clinic." She paused, searching Ryan's face for a reaction, and he pursed his lips, nodding his head for her to continue. "She told me that she was pregnant. And she wanted to get rid of the baby. But I talked her out of it. I told her," Marissa's head started to throb as she remembered things she wanted to forget, "I told her that she needed to tell Seth, and she got really mad at me, saying how I couldn't possibly understand the situation she was in. And it's true. I couldn't. But Seth needed to know. The next day, I found a note in my dorm from Summer. She wrote that she was leaving and that once she figured out some things, she would call."  
"You should've told me." Ryan said. "I could have helped you."  
"How?" Marissa asked sarcastically, a hopeless look spread across her face and he nodded, shamefully. How could he have helped Summer? It was a pointless question to ask now.  
"Anyway," Marissa said. "She also begged me in the note to not tell anyone. She wrote this whole explanation about why Seth couldn't know. . ."  
"Because she didn't want him to ruin his future." Ryan put together, thinking back on Kirsten's explanation.  
"Right." Marissa cleared her throat, which had formed a large lump of guilt, "The night I went to tell Seth she wasn't coming back, do you remember that?" Ryan nodded and she continued, "Summer called me. She had gone to her parents, but hadn't told them she was pregnant. She said she was stressed from school, and needed a break. Her dad didn't really care, you know how he is. Well, she called me to let me know she was ok, and that was keeping the baby. I pleaded with her once again to tell Seth, but she just started crying, making me promise not to tell Seth or you. So I promised." Marissa leaned back in her chair, "But she asked me to tell Seth that she wasn't coming back."  
Ryan leaned back, "I can't believe you were holding this in for so long."  
"She didn't want Seth to give up his future. I guess, in some way, Summer was trying to protect him, but she ended up hurting herself in the process, not to mention Seth. You know how much it hurt me to see him mope around, not knowing why she was gone, when I knew?" She had begun to cry, and Ryan leaned into her, kissing her softly, consoling her.  
"It's ok. He knows now." Ryan whispered.  
"He's at her apartment right now." Marissa sniffled, nodding.  
"Are you serious?" Ryan leaned back, in surprise, amazed as Marissa nodded 'yes'.  
"I think," Marissa smiled, "I think things between them are going to be ok."  
  
**********************************  
  
Summer woke up in agonizing pain, all her bones sore at once. Had she been dreaming? Or did Seth Cohen really cause her to faint? Was he even hear? Summer prayed that the whole past 2 years were a dream, and she would wake up to see herself back in her dorm, next to Seth. Instead, as she flipped around to see Seth sleeping on the armchair of her dingy apartment, Charlotte in his arms, she sighed in slight relief.  
She didn't like the girl she was two years ago. The girl she was now never would have left him like that.  
He looked simply adorable, holding Charlotte up against his chest. Summer slid off the couch, yawning, and walked over to them, not sure of what she should do, exactly.  
"Seth," She whispered, poking his shoulder gently. His eyes blinked open, in shock, and Summer quickly stopped him from making a noise, pointing down to sleeping Charlotte. Seth handed over Charlotte to Summer, watching on in slight amusement, as Summer rocked back and forth with the girl in her arms, placing her in her bedroom. She walked back over to Seth, sliding back down onto the couch.  
They stared at each other blankly, each too afraid to speak.  
"I should go." Seth said quickly. "Tomorrow, we're having this huge Christmas dinner thing, and my Mom is definitely going to need help." He got up, trying to avoid Summer's longing eyes.  
"Can we talk?" Summer asked, timidly.  
"Um," Seth grumbled, sitting back down again in defeat. "Sure." He punched his arm back into his pocket, furious with himself. He hated how he could rarely stand up to her.  
  
***************************************** 


	11. Disaster

A/n: Hey guys!! GIVE ME SOME GOOD FEEDBACK b/c I am working real hard to make this good for everyone. LETS TRY TO GET 100 REVIEWS!!  
  
Chapter 11: Disaster  
  
"I thought you said you wanted to talk." Seth spat out, rubbing the temples of his forehead in order to avoid looking back up at Summer, who was sitting across from him, very still.  
  
"I do."  
  
"Then," Seth said, leaning back in the armchair. "Talk."  
  
"This is kind of hard for me," Summer's eyes wilted at his avoiding eyes.  
  
"Good." Seth rolled his eyes, attempting to at least seem bitter when all his emotions were urging that he kiss Summer's pouting lips.  
  
"Seth," Summer's voice pleaded. He finally let his eyes focus in on hers, and she lowered her eyes, persuasively.  
  
"Well, I have some questions." He let out a smile, trying to be friendly towards her. She smiled back, leaning against the couch, praying that his sudden force of niceness would last a little longer. It was just plain easier for her.  
  
"I have answers." Summer nodded for him to ask away.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Seth began, his smile fading with his words, "Why didn't you tell me about her?" He nodded his head towards Charlotte's bedroom.  
  
"I didn't want you to do something stupid." Summer blurted out quickly. She had wanted to tell him this for so long.   
  
How she did it FOR him, not to hurt him.   
  
"I didn't want you to drop out or anything like that. I," She began to tear, but fought back. "I wanted you to finish school because I knew that if you knew about Charlie you would want to resume responsibility. And I couldn't let you throw your life away because of my mistakes." She sighed, relieved to get all of this off her chest.  
  
"So, instead, you threw away your own life?" Seth said, reeling back from this explanation. Her words only pressed his need to forgive and forget Summer onward. In reflection, it all seemed so sweet to him. So noble.  
  
"I didn't have much of a choice." Summer sighed. "In the beginning, I was going to get an abortion, and tell you afterwards." She wasn't surprised as Seth's eyes bulged out. "But I knew you would be so disappointed in me if I did that. And I didn't want to use that option, but I was young and I didn't know what else to do. So, I ran away."  
  
"Wow." Seth leaned back, letting her words sink into him slowly. He wasn't sure what to think about Summer anymore. A few hours ago, he hated her for everything she had done to him. But now, watching her confess, seeing how much she had grown up, he had never wanted her more.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Seth," She started to bawl, "I never should have left you."  
  
Seth looked at her, furrowing his brow furiously with concern and love. She had been holding this all in for so long. She had sacrificed so much, just so that he would have a good future. He looked around her small apartment, laughing almost. Who ever could have predicted that Summer Roberts would end up like this?  
  
"I bumped into Nicole on the pier." Seth said quickly and Summer popped her head up in response.   
  
"How is she?" Summer rolled her eyes bitterly.  
  
"Why didn't you go to your parents, Summer?"  
  
"I did." She replied calmly. "That was the first place I went. I told them I was super stressed from school and needed a break. They felt – so bad," She laughed sarcastically, "But then a few months into the pregnancy Nicole called my dad, complaining that I was getting fat and it ruined her image as a Newport bitch. He came home from," She squinted. "Berlin? Anyway, he kicked me out when I told him I was pregnant, not fat."  
  
"Prick." Seth said softly, kicking the chair slightly.  
  
"Yeah, well. He told me that I was going to be an 'unnecessary eyesore' for the Robert's family reputation."  
  
"Prick." Seth offered again, smiling.  
  
"So, after that," Summer smiled back, "I stayed at this seedy motel until I was six months in. And somehow, my heart directed me to your mom."  
  
"I'm glad you went to her." Seth said, calmly, moving to the couch and sitting right next to Summer, causing her heart to race with nerves.  
  
"She's amazing, Seth. She has helped me out so much. And," Summer cautioned herself, fanning away what she could have almost revealed. "You're lucky you have such amazing parents." Her eyes became distant and Seth frowned a little at her saddening face.  
  
"Well," Seth said happily, "Now you know how you should treat Charlotte."  
  
Summer smiled, moving her hand closer to his side. All she wanted was for him to hug her, to make everything that had happened go away.  
  
He leaned in, closing in on her lips, but she jumped up hastily. Her brain was over riding her heart and she announced, "I have to go the bathroom."  
  
Seth just watched her walk away slowly to the bathroom and sighed, leaning back and frowning over what was happening all over again between him and Summer.  
  
*********  
  
"Kirsten, answer the door." Julie commanded.  
  
Instead, Ryan's face appeared from the other side, but this was just as good for Julie.  
  
"Oh, hey Mrs. Cooper."  
  
"It's Nichol." Julie frowned, but then remembered to keep up her act and smiled gently, "Just to let you know, sweetie."  
  
"Sorry, hey Mrs. Nichol." Ryan smiled back, flakily. "Looking for Marissa?"  
  
"No." Julie said, sauntering into the Cohen's foyer, Ryan closing the door behind her.  
  
"I wanted to talk to Kirsten, actually. Is she around?"  
  
"What do you want, Julie?" Kirsten called from the top of the stairs and came down slowly.   
  
Ryan quickly slipped into the kitchen to grab Marissa and head to the pool house. He hated being around the Kirsten and Julie tension.  
  
"Kirsten, darling," Julie smiled, sitting down on a couch, crossing her legs smoothly.   
  
"Don't you 'darling' me." Kirsten felt like ripping out all of Julie's overly dyed hair, but instead, sat down by the minibar, pouring herself a drink.  
  
"I see you're still an alcoholic." Julie chimed.  
  
"I see you're still an evil bitch." Kirsten said, raising her glass to an unimpressed Julie Cooper.  
  
"Anyway," Julie subsided this. "I came over to apologize for Caleb's rude behavior before."   
  
Kirsten laughed at this attempt of an apology, muttering between sips of her Merlot, "If my father wants to apologize, he can come over and do so himself."  
  
"You know how he is, Kiki." Julie let out an overly exaggerated smile, beaming up at Kirsten, who rolled her eyes in response.  
  
"Ok, first of all, don't call me," Kirsten swallowed down some of her anger, carefully pronouncing her words with utter disgust, ". . .Kiki. Secondly, I don't really know what you are up to, Julie, but I'm onto you." Kirsten moved in closer, pleased that the effect of her drink was sinking into her blood.  
  
"I think I should go before you pass out," Julie said sweetly, standing up, "Kiki." She said this with such accentuated effort, that Kirsten wanted to punch her a la Ryan, right there in the Cohen's living room, but instead, taking another sip, Kirsten laughed it off.  
  
"Good idea," Kirsten cackled, pushing Julie towards the door. "Ju-Ju."  
  
Julie's frown at Caleb's little pet name made Kirsten only laugh more, as she lazily opened the door, practically pushing the pissed off Julie Cooper out of her home.  
  
"I'll see you for dinner tomorrow night?" Julie asked, sauntering out the door. She quickly turned on her heels before Kirsten slammed the door shut. "I hope you don't mind if Marissa brings Summer along."  
  
Kirsten nodded, skeptically, giving the ok. Kirsten was planning on inviting Summer anyway, since she knew she would be all alone and everything was now out in the open with Seth.  
  
"And I guess that means her," Julie whispered, " . . .child, will be there as well."  
  
Kirsten rolled her eyes at Julie, who, swaying her hips and applauding herself on such great executions of her plan, walked towards her own mansion.  
  
Kirsten slammed the door, then leaned against it, taking a long sip of her Merlot.   
  
  
  
Julie Cooper was up to something.  
  
  
  
And it involved Summer.  
  
Didn't matter who it involved really, because Julie had it out for all the Cohen's, especially Kirsten. Kirsten felt her stomach jumble a little bit at this, but ignored it, thinking that maybe she should pause on the drinking.   
  
Placing her champagne glass down on the kitchen counter, Kirsten walked off towards the pool house searching for the one person who knew Julie the best. Her daughter.  
  
******  
  
Summer zipped up her jeans quickly and walked over to the sink of the tiny, dingy bathroom of her apartment. She looked in the mirror quickly as she washed her hands, noting the dryness of her skin and how chapped her lips were. She smoothed some chapstick over her lips, in case Seth decided to lean in like that again.  
  
Summer heard a huge rumble come from underneath her, and for once, it wasn't her own nervous stomach. Her wide eyes slowly moved to the toilet, which was making all sorts of noises.   
  
"Not again." Summer muttered. Everything in this apartment was faulty. Summer had to learn how to unclog a toilet, clean a shower drain, use an oven. It was horrible. But at the same time, it gave her this amazing independence that she never had before. She finally felt like she was a real person, just your average joe.   
  
Another spew of noises from the toilet and Summer sighed, grabbing the plunger.   
  
"Summer?" Seth knocked on the door, "Are you ok?"  
  
Summer opened the door slowly, facing Seth, whose stature practically towered hers.   
  
"I'm fine. Can't say the same for the plumbing." Summer held out the plunger in front of her as if it were a weapon and she lifted the toilet seat up.  
  
"I have to see this." Seth laughed. "Summer, unclogging a toilet."  
  
"Shut up, Cohen." Summer laughed, the words sounding so strange, but familiar to her all at the same time.  
  
Seth simply grinned at her as she got down on her knees and started to pump the plunger into the toilet, in and out, in and out. The toilet made a large, exploding sound which made Summer and Seth both jump.  
  
"It does this all the time." Summer sighed. She was about to plunge again, Seth looking on from the safety of the doorway, when all of a sudden the toilet actually DID explode, right in front of her face.   
  
A huge sprout of water jammed right up into Summer's face, pushing her backwards, slipping all over the place until she landed on her ass, looking absolutely horrified and embarrassed.   
  
The water died down, and the toilet flushed and Summer looked at Seth and started to cry, but it slowly turned into a drowning laugh and he laughed along with her, wondering how Summer Roberts had turned into such a soft, loveable girl. Ok, she always was loveable to him, but now she was, broken. It made her so much more appealing. He could finally be her white knight.  
  
"Mommy!" A disgruntled voice called from Charlotte's bedroom, causing Summer to quickly jump up, only to fall again. Her clothes were soaked, and considering she was wearing a fairly light tee shirt, she had to cover up her chest with her arms, as to not give any free shows to Seth.  
  
"I'll get her." Seth replied, reading her mind. "You clean up." He shook his head, laughing at the sight of wet Summer, although it turned him on slightly, walking over to Charlotte's room.  
  
"Seth," Summer finally had managed to crawl out of the bathroom without causing more damage to her behind. "Charlotte's really particular, she doesn't really like when other people pick her up," Summer shut herself up as Seth emerged from Charlotte's bedroom, carrying the girl in his arms. Summer tilted her head down, as she blushed. He was so good with her, it was amazing.   
  
"What were you saying?" Seth said, Charlotte tapping his nose with her tiny fingers.  
  
"I have never seen her attach to someone so quickly."   
  
"I'm not just anyone, am I?" Seth tapped Charlotte's nose back.  
  
"No, you're not." Summer smiled, Seth looking deep into her eyes, searching still for the old Summer to reemerge.   
  
"Mommy, you look dirty!" Charlotte laughed at the sight of her mother's wrecked appearance.  
  
Summer blushed slightly, remembering her soaked outfit, in toilet water, none the less, heading off to her bedroom to grab some clothes to change into. She shut her door slightly, but left it open a crack, at least large enough of a gap to hear Seth's words to Charlotte.  
  
"No, Charlotte." Seth corrected the toddler. "Your Mommy looks beautiful." 


	12. Tommorrow

A/N: I know this chapter may be a little annoying, kind of cliff hangerish, but I promise lots of drama and lots of Seth/Summer quirkiness in the next few chapters.  
  
Chapter 12: Tommorrow  
  
Seth looked around Summer's apartment as Charlotte drummed her fingers on his knee, for the millionth time. Summer had come out of her bedroom, announcing she was in desperate need of a shower, and if he wouldn't mind watching Charlotte while she bathed, and of course, being the weakling he was, he obliged.  
Not that he minded. He loved watching Charlotte. With every growing second, the tiny girl entranced him more. Every thing she did was so similar to Summer, it was unbelievable that someone could mimic someone else so well.  
Suddenly, breaking his train of thought, Summer finally emerged from the bathroom, wearing a bright blue robe, brushing her long, damp brown hair carefully.  
"Mommy," Charlotte rang out in a demanding shrill, "I'm hungry."  
Summer sighed deeply, letting her tired eyes close for a second, throwing her brush back into the bathroom and storming off to the kitchen. Charlotte flew off the couch, following her mother, grabbing the banana Summer held out for her. Charlotte sat down on the floor by Seth's legs, munching away, carelessly throwing the peel to her side.  
Seth laughed, picking up the banana peel and walking over to Summer, who had sat down at the kitchen table, placing her head on the table, letting her eye close once more.  
"Summer," Seth asked, as he placed the peel in the garbage can he spotted, "When's the last time you took a break?"  
Summer popped her eyes open, watching Seth as he slowly leaned against the counter, next to her.  
"Do coffee breaks count?" She asked, forcing herself to keep her eyes open.  
"What do you say, we . . ." Seth began, his voice quivering with a nervous stumble, " . . .leave Charlotte with my mom and grab some dinner. Just us."  
Summer stared back at the boy who's heart she had broken nearly two years ago, letting the corners of her mouth twist up into a half hearted smile.  
"Let me just, um, get dressed." Summer jumped up, all of a sudden feeling very naked in front of Seth. He watched her, an amused expression on his face.  
"Well, knowing you," Seth laughed, scooping up Charlotte into his arms, who had finished her snack, "That might take a while. So, why don't I take Charlotte over to my house now?"  
Summer nodded, patting Charlotte's head.  
"Charlotte, you're going to spend tonight with Aunt Kirsten!" Summer smiled, making her way to the bedroom. She had no time to spare.  
Charlotte smiled, giddily at first, but then frowned, "But Aunt Ki-i- rsten's [she always had trouble pronouncing her name] food tastes funny. And I'm still hungry."  
Seth stared at the tiny girl, rolling over with laughter.  
"Why don't we pick up some McDonald's on the way over then?" Seth asked the tiny girl who nodded in agreement.  
"Bye Mommy!" Charlotte screamed, urging Seth to leave.  
"Bye Charlie, I love you!" Summer screamed from the bedroom, closing the door behind her.  
"You don't like Kirsten's food. You really are my child." Seth muttered to himself, happily, but loud enough for Summer to run back out the bedroom as he opened the apartment door.  
"Seth!" Summer gasped. She didn't want to ruin things. She wanted to have one night of pretending as if everything was normal. She didn't want to break his heart again, or hers.  
"What?" Seth looked at her, in surprise.  
"Um," Summer stammered, loosening her neck up. "Don't let Charlie eat too much ketchup." Her eyes strained to make as if this was really what she planned to say. "She has a nervous stomach."  
"Like her mother?" Seth laughed, leaving the apartment, Charlotte laughing along, even though she wasn't paying attention to what the adults had been saying.  
"Yeah." Summer rubbed her stomach, which was aching from all the lies she had been spinning for the past two years. "Like her mother."  
She turned back to the bedroom, in search of something that was actually decent to wear. She shoved a bunch of clothes from her closet to the side, looking at some of her older dresses, along with things she had thrown back there, that reminded her of Seth. Now that the wound of leaving him, was closing slowly, it didn't hurt as much to look back at these things. She touched the arm of the denim jacket she had worn at the night she went to Kirsten, slowly moving her arm to a shoebox, where she kept all the notes Seth had written to her during class in high school.  
She sighed, letting her eyes fall upon an old skirt. It was short, but not as short as she used to wear, and she lifted it off it's hanger, deciding it was perfect.  
  
********  
  
Kirsten knocked on the pool house door, something she had insistently taught herself to do, after the many times she had walked in on things that she would - much - rather not see.  
"Come in." Ryan called. Kirsten opened the door, sighing in relief that Marissa and Ryan weren't disheveled, but simply talking.  
"Hey." They both chimed at once, laughing at each other.  
"Hey, um, Marissa, your mother was just here."  
"She knows." Ryan said, bitterly.  
"Oh." Kirsten sat down on the couch, next to Marissa. "I was wondering if Julie has been acting strange lately."  
"My mom's always strange." Marissa laughed, but then paused seeing the concern on Kirsten's face. "In what way?"  
"Has she mentioned Summer at all?" Kirsten asked, trying to recall Julie's words a few minutes ago.  
"Actually," Marissa frowned. "She did mention the whole Charlotte thing, but I set her straight. And, she invited Summer over for Christmas dinner to make up for it." Marissa smiled at Ryan, who gave her a skeptical eye, probably wondering why Julie Cooper would do that.  
"Yeah, she told me Summer and Charlotte would be coming here."  
"Here?" Marissa asked, blinking her eyes widely.  
"Caleb and Julie are eating dinner at our house tomorrow. And so are you. Didn't Julie tell you?" Kirsten paused, seeing Marissa's reaction. "Of course she didn't."  
"Why on earth would Julie invite Summer over?" Ryan asked, frowning deep in thought.  
"To be nice." Marissa stated strongly, trying to convince herself that her mother has changed, although she noticed Julie's overly fake smile lately.  
"I don't know about that." Ryan said. "Before, she was trying to start something between us, too."  
"What do you mean?" Marissa asked in shock.  
"She was the one who told me about Charlotte," Ryan stopped as Kirsten eyed him. "Officially. And then she went on about how you should be honest with me. It was like, she was trying to," Marissa stood up, furious as Ryan spoke. "Manipulate me into getting into a fight with you."  
"AND IT WORKED!" Marissa screamed, her voice overridden with anger and disappointment.  
"Marissa, calm down." Ryan said, placing his arm around her. "We know your mom hates us being together. I should have figured this all out when she actually hugged me this morning. It was so awkward."  
"Tomorrow night is going to be a huge mess." Kirsten broke in. "I can feel it."  
"I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Marissa interrupted, grabbing her bag and running out of the pool house towards her own home.  
"What did I miss?" Seth's voice rang out, as he walked into the pool house, carrying Charlotte in his arms, who was holding a McDonald's happy meal in her hands.  
Ryan and Kirsten stared at him, a bemused look on their faces.  
"Ryan, this is Charlotte." Seth placed the girl down on the couch, and she ate happily, kicking her legs.  
"I know." Ryan managed to get out. "Summer's daughter."  
"Yeah." Seth almost looked at Charlotte all dreamily and then stopped himself.  
"Sweetie," Kirsten started, ready to demand to know what happened with Summer, but instead, Seth swiftly broke her words.  
"Can you watch her? I'm taking Summer out for some much needed relaxation." He skipped off towards the pool house door.  
"Sure." Kirsten smiled, happily, sitting back down next to Charlotte, watching Seth leave.  
"Who are you?" Charlotte broke the silence, staring up at Ryan's eyes.  
"I guess I'm Uncle Ryan." Ryan said, kneeling in front of the girl. "She looks so much like Summer." He said to Kirsten, who nodded in complete agreement. "And she has Seth's curls." He stopped himself, remembering what Kirsten had told him.  
"Coincidence." Kirsten replied.  
"Her eyes, sort of like Seth's." Ryan noticed, looking back at Kirsten.  
"Ryan," Kirsten began, ready to prove him wrong.  
"Come on, Kirsten. Do you really think Summer would have cheated on Seth?" He stared at her, waiting for her response.  
"No. But she wouldn't lie to me." Kirsten said, defensively.  
"Summer Roberts would do anything to get what she wants." Ryan pointed out, lying back on his old bed.  
"You know," Kirsten said, softly, "I never really doubted Summer, until Charlotte began started to grow up, and her features came in." Kirsten looked down at the child with defeat. "She does look a lot like him."  
"You should confront Summer. Tell her you know. Then, she'll have to tell Seth, and maybe then can salvage some sort of relationship." Ryan said, knowingly.  
"I'll do it tomorrow." Kirsten said, grabbing Charlotte's hand, who immediately latched to her and walked with her out of the pool house. Kirsten said to herself again, I'll do it tomorrow. And she had to do it before Julie Cooper found out.  
  
************  
  
"Mom!" Marissa shrieked, trying to keep down her anger. She shoved her purse into the closet, looking all over for her mother.  
"She's not here." Caleb said dryly.  
"Where is she?" Marissa asked, looking at him with complete disgust.  
"At your little friend's house." Caleb said, smiling evilly.  
"What friend?" Marissa asked, bewildered until it dawned on her. Summer. Marissa ran back out the Cooper's mansion and to the pool house, hopefully to catch Seth, who she had noticed walking by her as she ran to her house, before he left again. 


	13. Charlotte's Revelation

A/N: I personally love this chapter. I hope you do too! Keep reviewing, I love all your comments so far!! And.. I am telling you that my idea for Julie's plan is SOOO evil, it will make you laugh! Let's just say holidays at the Cohen's are not so fun!!!  
  
Chapter 13: Charlotte's Revelation  
  
Julie Cooper, or Nichol, whatever, made sure she plastered on her fake smile as she rapped her knuckles gently on the apartment door.  
Through some phone calls by Caleb, Julie had found Summer's address and took it upon herself to formally invite the poor girl to dinner tomorrow. Right.  
"One second!" She heard the girl call from inside and Julie let her smile drop suddenly, finding it hard to keep this charade of being nice, up. "Coming!" She heard again, and readjusted her smile as the door opened.  
"Julie." Summer said flatly, obviously expecting someone else. "Hi."  
Julie let her eyes look up and down Summer, who was looking much better then she had been earlier at their little run in and the pharmacy.  
"Summer, darling," Julie smiled eerily at Summer, making her cringe, "Is Marissa around?"  
Julie knew perfectly well that Marissa was at the Cohen's, but of course Summer didn't know that.  
"She went to Ryan's." Summer said timidly, gesturing for Julie to come in.  
"Oh, darn." Julie muttered, exaggerating her disappointment. "Well, I needed to talk to you anyway." Julie beamed at Summer.  
"Oh?" Summer asked faintly, feeling her stomach curl up. This was the same feeling she got whenever someone said 'they needed to talk to her'. It always meant something bad. Especially if it's coming from Julie Cooper's mouth. Or Nichol. Oh, screw it.  
"I wanted to invite you to Christmas dinner tomorrow night." Julie nodded, persuasively. "Unless you have plans."  
"I don't." Summer said, blankly, a little surprised at this offer.  
"Well then you just have to drop by!" Julie screeched, a little to excited for Summer's liking, but Summer forced a thankful smile either way.  
"I'll try." Summer said, sheepishly. "I'm really sorry Julie, but I'm sort of expecting company." Summer said, trying to get rid of Julie.  
"Oh, it's ok. I have to run some errands anyway. If Marissa comes back, tell her I'm looking for her. Oh, and Summer," Julie said alarmingly, before she stepped out, "Be at the Cohen's, at three."  
"The Cohen's?" Summer asked, questioningly looking at Julie.  
Julie nodded, "The Cooper's are having dinner with the Cohen's." Julie smiled at this.  
"Don't you mean the Nichol's?" Summer said, clicking the top of her mouth with her tongue out of annoyance. She wanted to trust Julie, but she just couldn't. Although the prospect of spending Christmas Eve with someone besides a two year old did sound appealing. Not that she didn't love spending time with Charlie, it was just, draining of energy.  
Julie just smiled at Summer, nodding. "Of course. It's still all new to me."  
"Right." Summer said. "See you tomorrow."  
"Tomorrow." Julie repeated, excitedly, smiling as Summer shut the door.  
Julie scowled, mocking Summer's apartment in her head, as she went towards the elevator. She couldn't wait to get out of this tackily decorated whorehouse.  
  
***********  
  
"SETH!" Marissa quickly ran down the street, spotting the Rover, driving away slowly. She ran after it, banging on the side of the car, and Seth slowed down so Marissa could catch up.  
"Julie . . ." Marissa panted, trying to catch her breath, "Summer."  
"Huh?" Seth stared at her, blankly. He hadn't been this happy in a long time, and he wasn't ready to let someone ruin it. And he had a feeling that anything that had to do with Julie was bad. Very bad.  
"Julie is at Summer's." Marissa repeated and Seth frowned, as she climbed into the car  
"Why?" He asked her, jamming his foot onto the gas pedal, racing off to Summer's apartment.  
"Let's find out." Marissa panted. She really needed to work out more.  
  
"Aunt K-i-irsten." Charlotte stammered, frowning that she still couldn't say it right.  
"Yes, Charlie?" Kirsten asked, peering at Charlotte from behind her Vogue.  
"Do Mommy and Cohen love each other?" Charlotte asked, demandingly.  
Kirsten felt taken aback at the child's question, but then, upon forced to think about it, she spoke up, "Yes."  
"Do they love each other like you and Uncle Sandy or like Barbie and Ken?"  
"What's the difference?" Summer laughed.  
"Barbie and Ken never fight. You and Uncle Sandy fight all the time!" Charlotte laughed.  
Kirsten frowned, "We don't fight ALL the time." Charlotte saw right through that, which you have to admit, is pretty good for a two year old, and she stared down Kirsten until she spoke, "Sometimes, people who love each other a lot, like Uncle Sandy and I, well, fighting is like the way we say 'I love you'." Kirsten leaned back, watching this silly explanation sink into the girl.  
"Cohen and Mommy don't fight." Charlotte began to look very distressed. "Do they not love each other a lot?"  
"Oh, no, sweetie." Kirsten began, frantically. "Cohen and Mommy used to fight a lot, but now," Kirsten smiled. "Now they are different. Things have changed."  
"Like what?"  
"Well, they had you." Kirsten smiled, not thinking of the wrongness of her words. She stood up, tapping Charlotte's shoulder and walking off towards the kitchen for some coffee. "And you make them very happy, all the time."  
Charlotte looked down at her Barbie dolls, pondering over this. And remember, she's a very perceptive two year old.  
  
*******************  
  
"Summer!" Seth screamed, knocking on the door furiously.  
"What the hell, Cohen?" Summer screamed back, as she flung the door open.  
Seth let his arm drop and looked down at her, mystified.  
"Um," Was all he could manage to get out.  
"Um? Um is the only thing you can say after you practically knocked down my door?" She placed her hands on her hips, in a very Summer-ish fashion, and waited for his response, which there was none, just a guilty look, and she smiled at him. "Come in, you loser."  
Seth smiled, desperately holding back every urge to grab her, and Marissa showed up behind him. She had been parking the car while Seth ran up to see if he could catch Julie, but from the look of it, Julie was long gone.  
"Your mom was looking for you." Summer said to Marissa, casually, her gaze still on Seth.  
Marissa noticed how well they were getting along and backed off a little.  
"Better go find her." Marissa rolled her eyes, patting Seth's shoulder. "Could be important." Marissa turned down the hallway and left them in their little adoring gaze.  
"Are you going to come in?" Summer asked, walking back towards her bedroom. "Because I pay a lot for the heat bill, and you're letting in a draft."  
"What draft?" Seth called. "This hallway, is like, 80 degrees over hot."  
He watched as Summer emerged from the bedroom, taking off a gray sweatshirt she had been wearing and grabbing her purse.  
"Or maybe it's just you that's heating up the hallway." Seth grinned, leaning back against the door.  
"Shut up." Summer blushed, looking down at her fine choice of a black skirt and a simple blue tank top. She had actually put make up and let her hair down, something she rarely does anymore. Black heels and some perfume, and she was a spitting image of her former self. "Ready?" She asked, leading him into the hallway.  
"No seriously. Why pay for heat when we have you?" He closed the door behind him, following Summer down the suddenly scorching hallway. *********  
  
"Uncle Sandy." Charlotte asked, walking into his office.  
"Charlie!" Sandy looked down at her, adoringly, casting some paper work aside and picking her up, placing her on his lap. "How's my favorite girl?"  
"I have a question." Charlotte announced, dismissing his question eagerly.  
"Oh," Sandy said, uncomfortably, praying it had nothing to do with babies and where they came from.  
"Aunt K-i-i-irsten." Charlotte frowned again, displeased with her pronunciation, which only made Sandy chuckle at how determined she was to fix it, "She said that when people fight, it's cause they love each other."  
"Well if Aunt Kirsten said it, then that's true." Sandy laughed.  
"Then why don't Mommy and Cohen fight?"  
"Summer and Seth?" Sandy laughed full heartedly at the pair. "They fight like crazy Charlie."  
"Not when I'm there!" Charlotte squealed.  
"Well, they used to."  
"Why don't they fight no more?" Charlotte asked, eyeing his every move.  
"Because a bundle of joy came into their life. You." He said, squeezing her gently.  
"That's what I thought." Charlotte sighed, jumping off his lap.  
Sandy watched her leave, passing by Kirsten, who took her place on his lap.  
"For a two year old, she is really smart." Sandy stated, kissing Kirsten.  
"Must be from all that time she spends with her Aunt Kirsten." Kirsten laughed, kissing him back.  
"Isn't it adorable how she calls Seth, Cohen?" Sandy asked her.  
"Absolutely." She said, using her 'sexy' voice.  
"You know who else is adorable?"  
"Seth and Summer reuniting?"  
"No."  
"Marissa and Ryan?"  
"No."  
"Caleb and Julie?" Kirsten laughed at Sandy's odd expression at her words and he shook his head vigorously.  
"Definitely not." Sandy said. "Ew."  
"Oh, god. Don't you start mimicking Summer too. I swear if I hear another 'ew' come out of Charlotte's mouth, I might . . ." She was interrupted by the phone and kissed Sandy gently, as she picked it up.  
"Hello? Kiki?" Caleb's voice echoed annoyingly in Kirsten's brain. She jumped off Sandy, taking the phone with her.  
"Hi Dad." She rolled her eyes, before leaving the room, who rolled his eyes along with her.  
  
******************  
  
"So, where do you want to go?" Seth asked, starting up the Rover.  
"I can't believe you guys still have the Rover."  
"Summer, you can't ditch the Rover." He laughed at his words, even though it sent a chill down both their spines. Using her own name and the word ditch didn't feel right in Summer's stomach. "It has feelings too."  
"Oh, really?" Summer laughed, casting her guilt aside.  
"Uh-huh." Seth smiled. "Like, right now," He stroked the dashboard gently, "The Rover's a little turned on by you."  
"Or maybe he's turned on by your incessant stroking?" Summer practically giggled, but ceased slowly as Seth's hand went back to the wheel.  
"Wow," Seth said, pulling out of the parking spot. "Déjà vu."  
"I know what you mean." Summer said, remembering when her and Seth used to date.  
"But," Seth said. "Appreciated, much wanted, much needed déjà vu."  
"I know what you mean." Summer said again, watching Newport pass her by.  
"So, where do you want to go?" Seth asked again, as they rolled up to a light.  
"Surprise me." Summer said, flirtatiously.  
"Ok, then." Seth said, sternly, "Surprise you I shall." And he quickly signaled right, which Summer recognized quickly as the route to the beach.  
  
************  
  
"Uncle Ryan?" Charlotte asked, looking up at the new uncle who was sitting in the kitchen.  
"Charlotte?" He asked back, patting her head.  
"Are you Cohen's friend?"  
"We're really good friends." Ryan nodded.  
"How good?"  
"Like Marissa and your mommy."  
"Oh." Charlotte smiled. "Does Cohen love Mommy?"  
"He loves her more then you'll ever know, Charlotte." Ryan said, sweetly, amused at these questions being asked.  
"Does Mommy love Cohen?" Charlotte quickly asked, sticking to her agenda.  
"I think so." Ryan said, nodding.  
"Then why did Mommy leave him?" Charlotte asked, causing Ryan to choke on the water he had been drinking and Charlotte simply smiled, egging him on to satisfy her question.  
"I think you should ask your Mommy that question." Ryan said and Charlotte frowned.  
"But I asked you first!" She stomped her foot, demandingly. It only made Ryan laugh at how determined she was, just like her mom. Just like her dad.  
Before Ryan could reply, Kirsten stormed in furiously opening the fridge and grabbing the Merlot. Ryan raised his eye at her, knowing that she had probably just spoken to a Nichol, because that's when Kirsten usually turns into an alcoholic.  
"Caleb?" Ryan asked and Kirsten nodded.  
"He 'offered' to hire a caterer tomorrow night." Kirsten said, digging in the dishwasher for clean wine glasses.  
"Can you blame him?" Ryan asked, picking up Charlotte, who was still frowning at him, but didn't mind the attention.  
Kirsten glared at him. "I don't need charity from my father just because I'm not the greatest cook in the world." She sat down on one of the chairs, sipping her drink.  
"You can't cook anything, Aunt Kirsten!" Charlotte squealed then clapped at her accomplishment of finally saying Kirsten's name right. "Kirsten!" She said again, smiling. She moved around so much that Ryan placed her in the chair next to him, between laughs.  
"Thanks, Charlie." Kirsten smiled. "You said Kirsten right!" She realized, and laughed along. "Now, you need to learn how to say Seth."  
"I can say Seth." Charlotte said quickly. "Seth!" She squealed.  
"Then why do you still call him Cohen?" Ryan asked, looking down at the smiling girl.  
Charlotte shrugged, fighting to get off the chair, Ryan helping her. "Because that's what Mommy always says while she's sleeping."  
"What?" Kirsten asked.  
"Mommy says," Charlotte rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed that she has to explain herself, "things about Cohen while she sleeps."  
"Sleep talking?" Ryan offered; although he couldn't remember Summer ever sleep talking in the past. Kirsten nodded then looked back at the toddler.  
"What does Mommy say?"  
"That she doesn't want to lie anymore." Charlotte said, rolling her eyes once more, scaring Ryan at the similarity between Summer and herself, "Lying's bad."  
"That's right, it is." Ryan chimed.  
"What doesn't she want to lie about, Charlie?" Kirsten asked, demandingly.  
"Me." Charlotte squealed now, in delight about what, Ryan and Kirsten couldn't figure out.  
"Oh," Kirsten said coolly, Ryan and her exchanging knowing looks.  
"She loves Cohen and Cohen loves her." Charlotte squealed again, dancing around.  
"That's right." Ryan said.  
"And they don't fight because they had me." Charlotte squealed again, but then shut herself up, as the adults looked at her questioningly. She ran out the room quickly, laughing and Ryan just stared at Kirsten blankly.  
"What is she thinking in that little head of hers?" Kirsten asked, becoming a little lazy with her words from the Merlot.  
Ryan shrugged, stretching from his spot as he heard his cell phone ring.  
"Can you come pick me up?" Marissa's voice rang out.  
"Where are you?" Ryan asked.  
"Outside Summer's apartment."  
"Alright, give me ten minutes." He shut off the phone, quickly asking Kirsten if he could borrow her car, and she nodded, figuring she couldn't use it anyway, as she swallowed some more of her drink.  
  
***********  
  
"Caleb," Julie called from downstairs.  
"Marissa was looking for you." He said, walking down the stairs slowly.  
"Oh," Julie frowned. "I was just at Summer's. Her apartment is so small. No place for a child to be raised. I bet you that girl's therapy bills will be sky high when she gets older."  
"You don't need to be raised in poverty to have problems, Jules, look at your daughter." Caleb laughed and Julie scowled at him.  
"That obviously comes from her father." Julie frowned, embracing Caleb in a hug.  
"It's getting a little late, I think I'm going to bed." Caleb yawned.  
"I think I'm going to pay a little visit to Sandy Cohen." Julie smiled, clasping her hands together in utter joy.  
"And why would you do that?"  
"Caleb, darling," She laughed, walking back through the front door. "You need to poke the fire a little to keep the flames from dying out." She laughed again as she closed the door behind her, leaving a smirking Caleb behind her. 


	14. And The Father Is

A/N: Hmm..... not liking this chap so much, but we'll see. sorry for taking so long, I had a busy weekend. Oh. and did anyone see this coming?? Just wondering!!  
  
Chapter 14: And the Father is . . .  
  
"We're almost there." Seth said quietly, eyeing Summer, whose eyes lit up with anticipation. She knew they were at the beach, but where were they going?  
They had gotten out of the car by the boardwalk, and Seth took her over to the docks, where the rich Newport citizens kept their yachts and pontoons.  
Seth slipped his hand into Summer's, as they walked side by side down one of the docks. Summer let her hand hang loosely with his, closing her eyes and breathing in the fresh sea air, trying to remember the last time she felt this good.  
"Okay, well," Seth mumbled and Summer's eyes popped open and she let out a whimper of surprise and delight.  
"Oh my god." Summer smiled. "You still have it!" She sat down on the edge of the dock, sliding her fingers over the lettering on the sailboat. Summer's Breeze.  
"Of course I still have it." Seth smiled, sitting down next to her. "I haven't used her since I got the new one, but I love her."  
"How do you know it's a she?" Summer asked, playfully, her eyes still on the name of the boat.  
"Summer," Seth shook his head. "It's the code of the sea. Every boat is a girl. I think it has something to do with how horny sailors always are."  
Summer laughed, rolling her eyes in his direction, letting her hand back into his.  
"You know, I should take Charlotte sailing one day." Seth said matter of factly.  
"She would love it." Summer nodded at this idea, leaning her head against his shoulder. She could feel his heart racing, even though he stayed calm and collected on the outside. That was such a Seth thing to do. Then again, it was something she was doing as well, because her heart was beating at least 10 times as fast as his.  
"Of course she would love sailing. It's genetic." Seth smiled, breathing in the scent of Summer and closing his eyes to savor it.  
Summer felt her heart tweak at his words and she looked up at him, biting her lip.  
"What?" He asked, looking back at her, knowing her too well. He knew she wanted to say something, something he wouldn't like.  
"Nevermind." Summer said, letting her thoughts be pushed aside. "I was just going to say how perfect this feels."  
Seth let his doubts of Summer go, figuring he'd rather spend time with her then worry about what she was holding back. He stroked her palm with his fingertips and sighed.  
"It's almost perfect." He said, Summer looking up at him with her big brown eyes that drove him nuts.  
"Almost?" She asked, licking her lips as if she knew what was coming next.  
"Yeah, except for one thing." Seth said, grinning and pulling her face towards him. He kissed her gently, then pulled back to see her pleased reaction, and kissed her again. They paused and looked back at the boat and the water, then Summer leaned back on his shoulder.  
"You hungry?" Seth asked, feeling his stomach rumble.  
"Starved." Summer nodded and he helped her up.  
"What are you in the mood for?" Seth asked as they made their way back to the Rover.  
Summer looked at him, thinking about how all she really wanted to do was engulf Seth Cohen's lips again, but instead she shrugged, "Anything but the Crab Shack."  
Seth laughed. "So, you do work there?" He watched her nod, blushing. "Wow."  
"You know," Summer blurted defensively, "The notion of me working is not that hard to believe." She watched as he looked down at her, cracking a smile. "Ok, maybe it's a little unimaginable."  
"Summer," Seth laughed. "We are talking about the girl who used laundry detergent in the dishwasher because she thought it would make the dishes smell 'spring fresh'."  
She punched his arm gently, laughing along.  
"Well," She smiled, "I haven't made mistakes like that in a long time. I've changed."  
"I noticed." Seth said.  
"Noticed in a bad way or a good way?"  
He looked down at Summer, eyeing the curves of her lips. He kissed her gently, but quickly and thought it over for a second as he opened the car door for her.  
"Definitely a good way." He whispered as he slammed the door shut and went around to the driver's seat.  
  
"Julie?" Sandy asked. "And what do I owe the pleasure of this untimely visit?"  
"I need someone to confide in." Julie said, practically sobbing. She held up a tissue to her nose, shifting her legs in the leather chair in Sandy's office. "And I figured that because you're a lawyer, you are pretty good at keeping secrets, well, secret."  
"Ok . . ." Sandy said, unsurely, but he did feel some sympathy for the woman crying in his office. "Is this about Caleb?"  
"Sort of." Julie sobbed, not sure if she was pushing it with the cries.  
"Go ahead." He leaned back in his chair.  
"Well, basically, Caleb is threatening to divorce me if Marissa remains friends with Summer."  
"Why does he care who Marissa's friends with?" Sandy asked quickly.  
"He thinks the world of Marissa, and he think Summer is a bad influence, you know, getting knocked up and all."  
Sandy cringed at this, and stated, "Well, she's YOUR daughter."  
"I think he's right though. I mean, I don't want my Marissa to be caught up with trash like Summer."  
"Summer is a great girl Julie, and what happened with her was an accident."  
"No, Sandy. Falling off your bike is an accident. Getting pregnant when you're 19 is a disgrace, especially with Summer dropping out and leaving Seth like that."  
Sandy couldn't argue with that. Summer did leave Seth pretty damaged.  
"But Marissa is so stubborn. And well, I learned something from Nicole." Julie cried, trying to get to the point of this meeting.  
"Summer's stepmother?"  
"That's the one. She told me something. Something that would definitely solve lots of problems for Marissa."  
"What problems?" Sandy asked.  
"Well, she's having a lot of trust issues with Ryan. And Summer's bad influences. Those problems."  
You're the only problem in Marissa's life, Sandy wanted to say, but instead he nodded, understandingly.  
"What did Nicole say?" Sandy asked, waiting for a bomb to explode out of Julie's mouth.  
"Who the true father of Summer's child is." Julie said, leaning back, trying to hide her mischevious smile.  
"Seth?" Sandy asked, thinking this whole time it was. Even though Summer said it wasn't, the resemblance between Charlotte and Seth was uncanny.  
"I wish it was so simple." Julie sobbed, adding some moans for the effect.  
"Then who is it?" Sandy asked, skeptically, feeling slight pain that Seth wasn't the father.  
"I don't know if I should say. It's one of those things that could ruin people." Julie smiled, watching her fire explode into several, out of control flames.  
"You can trust me, Julie." Sandy nodded for her to continue.  
"The father of Summer's daughter is," Julie paused, making sure no one was around. "Ryan."  
  
***********  
  
"Hey." Ryan said as Marissa climbed in. "How'd you end up here?"  
"My mother paid a surprise visit to Summer, but supposedly she was just looking for me."  
"She knew you were with me." Ryan said, angrily.  
"Whatever." Marissa smiled at Ryan causing him to soften up a little. "Seth and Summer might be getting back together."  
"I think they already have. Seth was practically skipping this afternoon."  
"Yeah, Summer got all dressed up. They're on a date."  
"Aww, how cute." Ryan chided Marissa's extreme interest in their friend's relationship.  
"Yeah, you are." She smiled as they made their way back to the pool house. "Unfortunately, I think my mother is up to something though."  
"I thought we established that already." Ryan chimed in.  
"Yeah, but I can feel it now. Something bad is going to happen at dinner tomorrow."  
"Don't worry, Marissa." Ryan said quickly, sliding his free hand towards her, comforting her. "We'll get through it. We always do."  
"I know." Marissa said, letting the subject drop and leaning into Ryan as he drove. She still felt really awful about it, but tried hard to forget the unease in her mind.  
  
"There must be some mistake." Kirsten yelled at Sandy, half drunk.  
"No, Kirsten." Sandy began, his hands trembling. "Julie was serious. I've never seen her that distraught before."  
"Julie," Kirsten said lazily as she landed on their bed, "is evil."  
"I know, but she was sincere." Sandy said, leaning on the bed as well.  
"Summer would never do that to Seth." Kirsten said. "And Ryan would never do that to Marissa! Although," She stopped herself quickly.  
"Although what?" Sandy asked.  
"Ryan and Marissa have been kind of uneasy for awhile, and Ryan really seemed eager to know everything that's happened with Summer. It actually does make sense." Kirsten said, finding it hard to believe that she found anything to be practical when she was this wasted.  
"You have to tell Seth." Sandy said, sternly, shaking Kirsten from letting her eyes close.  
"Why me?" Kirsten scowled.  
"Because you owe it to him to be honest after these past few years."  
"You had to bring that one up, didn't you?" Kirsten smiled, nodding in defeat. "I'll tell him."  
"He's going to be so disappointed. I think he actually liked the idea of being Charlotte's father."  
"Uncle Sandy!" Charlotte screamed from the living room and Sandy jumped to his feet to go see the little girl.  
"Hmm," Kirsten sighed to herself. "I think someone should inform Ryan that the secret is out." Kirsten stood up, holding onto the closest thing possible to steady herself, making her way to the pool house, where she noticed her car was parked in the driveway, so Ryan was definitely home.  
She trudged up towards the pool house door, forgetting to knock because she was so intoxicated and she barged in. Good thing Ryan was alone, she thought.  
"Kirsten?" Ryan laughed at seeing her whole body sway in so drunkenly.  
"I cannot believe you!" Kirsten laughed, practically knocking into the wall.  
"Huh?" Ryan looked at her and Kirsten laughed some more.  
"We know Ryan."  
"Know what?" He couldn't wait to tell a sober Kirsten about how funny she was when she was drunk.  
"That you are Charlotte's father!" She screamed very loudly, surprised by the sudden appearance of Marissa coming out of the bathroom.  
Marissa stood there, looking at Ryan, fighting through tears.  
"Marissa, she's dru--" Ryan started, but watched as Marissa shook her head at him.  
"She's my best friend, Ryan!" Marissa screamed, feeling her heart start up with anger and she ran past Kirsten and out of the pool house.  
"Oops?" Kirsten laughed and followed Marissa's direction.  
Ryan stared at the door in which they both left him, blankly, not sure of what just happened. 


	15. Broken Trust

Chapter 15: Broken Trust  
  
"Are you kidding?" Summer giggled, laughing as she dove her fork into one of the containers of Chinese take out Seth and her had ordered and brought back to her apartment.  
"Not at all. He talks in his sleep all the time. The other night," Seth adjusted his uncomfortable position on the living room rug, "He said something about being scared of me."  
"Why would anyone be scared of you?" Summer laughed again, slurping up some lo mein. "You're so scrawny."  
Seth rolled his eyes at Summer's insult and she quickly corrected herself.  
"And by scrawny, I mean insanely tough." She cracked a smile and he laughed.  
"Insanely tough?" He asked, grabbing the lo mein from her.  
"Yeah, I mean, who knows what lies underneath that bony exterior?" She laughed sarcastically, moving closer to him on the floor.  
"Very funny." He said, watching her scoot over, extremely tempted to grab her and start making love to her right here on the floor. Although, that wouldn't be extremely comfortable on his so called bony exterior.  
"Anyway, Ryan talking in his sleep." Summer said quickly, realizing the short amount of silence between them. "I think I talk in my sleep sometimes."  
"A new development?" Seth asked, thinking hard if her ever heard Summer mumbling all those nights he woke up in disbelief that he was actually sleeping next to her.  
"Yeah." Summer shrugged, not really wanted to bring up her problems.  
"I can't believe how much you've grown." Seth practically hushed to whisper, pushing his food away.  
Summer frowned a little, again, not wanting him to feel sorry for her.  
"Yeah, I never really skimmed down fully from having Charlotte." She smiled.  
"That's not what I meant." Seth said, seriously. "Besides, you look amazing."  
Summer blushed at his compliment but cast it aside.  
"Tell me more about you. Have you changed?" Summer stated, quickly getting up to put the food away.  
She rummaged through the kitchen as Seth sighed and opened his mouth to speak.  
"Not really. Not as much as you have." Seth curved his lips into a knowing smile, forcing Summer to talk about what he knew she didn't want to.  
"Seth," Summer whimpered. "I know I've changed. Everyday is a reminder of how shallow I used to be. When I go to the supermarket, with my clipped coupons because I can barely afford getting Charlotte the exact type of juice she wants. When I go to work and have to serve people who I used to rub elbows with. When I see that beautiful two hundred dollar sweater that I want so bad, but know I can't have. Not anymore." She didn't realize how much she was rambling and she smiled, knowing it was something she had picked up from Seth.  
Seth watched her with an intense grin on his face. "What sweater?" He asked, grabbing her hand and whisking her out of the apartment.  
  
***********  
  
"Ryan?" Julie blinked widely at the boy standing in her doorway as she opened the door. "I thought Marissa was with you."  
"You mean she's not here?" Ryan asked, nervously.  
Julie shook her head and he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from punching any walls.  
"Are you ok?" Julie asked, in what seemed like a sincere attempt.  
"Um, I'm not sure." Ryan said. "Just tell Marissa I'm looking for her, ok?"  
"Sure." Julie said, waving goodbye as he walked back to the Cohen's.  
Julie shut the door behind her, smiling obnoxiously.  
"Mom," Marissa's voice called from the kitchen. She walked towards Julie, "Who was that?"  
"No one important, sweetie." Julie chimed, wrapping her arm around Marissa. "Are you ok, you look a little flushed?" She noticed the tear stains on her daughter's cheeks and couldn't help but feel bad about the thing she had to do in order to keep her daughter safe from her ridiculous friends.  
"I don't know." Marissa struggled to get even that much out of herself and she trudged back to the kitchen to get a glass of water.  
  
***********  
  
"You did what?" Sandy screamed, but then shut himself up, remembering Charlotte was sleeping in Seth's room.  
"I think I told Ryan we knew about Charlotte, in front of Marissa." Kirsten whined, rubbing her aching forehead, Hangovers are the worst. Add a guilty conscious, and it's torture.  
"How could you do that Kirsten? We aren't even positive about all this."  
"I wasn't really in my own state of mind, Sandy." Kirsten said angrily.  
"I'm sick of you using the drunk thing as an excuse. Were you drunk when you decided to help Summer out too? How about when you lied to our son?"  
"You could have told him if you had felt that horrible about it." Kirsten quipped.  
"Fighting like this won't make things better."  
"Who says we're fighting?" Kirsten swallowed down some Tylenol.  
"I'm going to go check on Charlotte." Sandy said, trying to maintain his calm with a still slightly drunk and bitter Kirsten.  
"Good idea." Kirsten said, forcing a smile and placing her head down on her pillow.  
  
***********  
  
"Cohen, where are we going now?" Summer laughed, her stomach aching from eating way too much take out.  
Seth had taken her to the Newport boutique where she had seen that beautiful sweater, demanding that he buy it for her. Who was she to resist? One sweater, two pairs of shoes, and a necklace later, Seth was busy swiping his credit card with the cashier, grabbing Summer's hand.  
"All this shopping has made me kind of hungry." Seth said, shoving the bags into the Rover and kissing Summer's hand as she looped it in his.  
"Seth," Summer felt a guilty surge run through her body as she looked at the bags of expensive items. "Thanks." She looked up at him and he smiled.  
"You deserve it, Summer." They walked past a row of stores, heading off to the ice cream shop that Seth loved as a kid.  
"Wait," Summer screamed, turning around abruptly, forcing Seth to lose his train of thought. He looked at her gleaming eyes, following their gaze to a children's store.  
"I should get Charlotte a Christmas present." Seth said.  
"Same here. But," She patted her pockets, trying to show the lack of money. He laughed.  
"It can be from both of us." He nodded and they ran in, sifting through a bunch of teddy bears.  
"This is so cute." Summer smiled, picking up a tiny horse. "It's her favorite animal."  
Seth burst out laughing, nodding his head and heading off towards the cash register to pay for it. Summer watched him, quite amused at his random behavior, smiling at the pile of teddy bears to her right.  
He grabbed his free hand and they walked on to the ice cream shop.  
As they waited in line so Seth could get a vanilla cone, Summer tapped her foot impatiently.  
"What's on your mind?" Seth asked, knowing this was Summer's way of letting him know she had something to say.  
"Why did you crack up like that before?"  
"This horse doesn't look familiar to you?" Seth asked, holding up the horse out of the bag, then placing it back inside. Summer shook her head slowly then let it dawn over her.  
"Captain Oats?"  
"Captain Oats." Seth confirmed. "Charlotte and I have the same taste, I see." He said smugly.  
"Coincidence." Summer rolled her eyes playfully. She realized that her hand had not left his, not once. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, reassuring her that this was real.  
  
*************  
  
"Ryan?" Sandy called as he entered the pool house.  
"Hey." Ryan said, looking up from one of the old comic books he had found behind the bed.  
"Hey." Sandy said, sitting down. Ryan cast aside the comic book, watching Sandy. "So, um, what's up?"  
"Is Kirsten sober yet?" Ryan asked, clearly ticked off.  
"Not just yet." Sandy grinned with some annoyance.  
Ryan sighed, "She screwed up, big time."  
Sandy nodded and Ryan continued, "I can't stand her when she's drunk."  
"Me neither." Sandy nodded once more. "So things with you and Marissa. . ."  
"I don't know where she is. Things are pretty bad right now."  
"I'm sorry Kirsten ruined things."  
"It wasn't her. Things have been weird for awhile."  
"Really?" Sandy asked, trying hard not to mention anything about Summer. The last thing he wanted to do was bring up any bad emotions from Ryan.  
"Ever since," Ryan's eyes gleamed at the realization of this, "Since Summer left."  
"Marissa must have took is pretty hard. She's her best friend."  
"Yeah," Ryan winced at these words which Marissa herself had screamed to him before she ran out. She's my best friend. "Plus, Seth had become so morbid. Everything's been weird. But, maybe, there's some hope now that Seth and Summer have reunited."  
"Maybe." Sandy stood up, smiling at Ryan with some hope.  
"Oh, yeah, Sandy?" Ryan asked as Sandy exited. Sandy paused, waiting for Ryan to speak.  
"Where did Kirsten get the idea that I was Charlotte's father?" Ryan looked very serious, a little suspicious as well.  
"I really don't know." Sandy tried a laugh and Ryan smiled unsurely. This all but led to more convincing that Ryan might in fact be the father of Summer's child. He seemed so guilty, so quick to make sure he wasn't found out. Or was that just Julie Cooper's voice screeching assumptions in Sandy's brain? 


	16. Some Things Never Change

A/N: Lets try to get 200 reviews guys!! so anyway.. I had some major writers block, but after rewatching the chrismukkah episode and all the snow I've got around me.. im in the north, I had some inspiration. sooo I hope you like this chapter, I took some of your reviews into consideration. for instance, someone said marissa was over reacting.. so you'll see how I dealt with marissa. stay tuned for some more cute seth/summerness ( because that's my fav part too ) before julie's evil plot ruins it. Keep reviewing! and for all you M/R's, I wrote the cutest Marissa and Ryan scene. Even if you don't like them.. you would enjoy it. Oh and this chapter is wayyy mushy. Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 16: Some Things Never Change  
  
Maybe she had been a little too quick to run out of the pool house. She had been a little too drama queenesque for her own liking, and after a few hours of cooling down in her room, she realized how drunk Kirsten seemed. It's funny how you don't notice details like that when they are right in front of you, but later on, when you can't turn back time. Of course, recognizing other people's drunkenness shouldn't be too tough for Marissa, of all people. She had been drunk so many times, but she had cut down once she started dating Ryan. She really didn't need alcohol when she had him.  
Ryan. Marissa groaned, pulling her bed sheets around her for warmth from the bad thoughts in her head. She should go to him. Let him explain. Talk to him. He wanted honesty? Well, here's his chance, Marissa thought as she climbed out of her bed, slipping flats onto her dainty feet and charging down the stairs of her house.  
  
**********  
  
"Ryan, I am so sorry." Kirsten mumbled, but then quickly realized she was talking to herself. She had the headache the size of Texas, which was common for her post-wasted moments. How could she let herself get so drunk when she was holding valuable secrets and had a child in the house? What example was she setting for Charlotte?  
Kirsten let out a exasperated sigh and climbed out of bed, in search of some more Tylenol and coffee. Anything to kick out the jumble of unpleasant thoughts in her head.  
"How's it going?" Sandy asked Kirsten as she walked into the kitchen, dragging her guilty feet.  
Kirsten looked up at him, giving him the look of 'back off or I'll bite' that Sandy had grown to admire from her.  
He chuckled gently, passing her the coffeepot that he had just brewed up and she gladly poured herself a cup.  
"I really need to stop drinking so much." Kirsten said, more to herself then Sandy.  
"You think?" Sandy muttered, gathering up some work papers and kissing her forehead as he made his way back to his office.  
Kirsten groaned as she took another sip of the steaming hot coffee, which felt like ice to her numb lips.  
"Oh," Ryan's voice echoed through her brain and she quickly jolted up at the sight of him.  
He really didn't feel like talking to Kirsten right now, even though, from the permanent grimace on her face and her shaky cup of coffee, he knew she was done being drunk for the moment.  
He had just come by to the kitchen to drown his sorrow in some cereal, something he picked up from Seth, but suddenly he wasn't craving cereal anymore.  
"We need to talk." Kirsten said, rubbing the sprinting pains in her temple.  
"We do." Ryan said softly, but turned around quickly to walk back out the way he had come, "But not now."  
Kirsten sighed, swallowing back some more coffee. What else could she do but wait for him. When he was ready, he would talk. And there was a hell of a lot to talk about.  
  
************  
  
"Sweetie, where are you off to?" Julie chirped, striding over to the front door, which Marissa's body was about to slide through. Why was her mother always there? She was like a bad fungus you just can't get rid of. Not that Marissa knows what having a fungus is like. She shook her head in disgust at her thoughts and stared blankly at her stalking mother.  
"Nowhere." Marissa smiled, earnestly, praying Julie would just let her go.  
"Nowhere? You must be going somewhere."  
"Um," Marissa could say she was going to Ryan's, like she was, but something inside told her that wasn't going to get her out of the house. She could say Summer's, but Julie also had a problem with that too. "The beach."  
"It's practically nine o'clock. It's no time for a swim, Marissa." Julie took stance, not letting her gaze into Marissa disappear.  
"I wasn't going to swim. I just want to take a walk. I haven't been to Newport Beach in the longest time," Marissa frowned at this interrogation and opened the door wider. "Goodbye mother." She rolled her eyes before Julie could say another word and left her there, determined to apologize to Ryan for being such a bitch. She was obviously PMSing or something. Or maybe spending so much time around Julie had rubbed off on her. Whatever it was, she wished it would go away.  
  
***************  
  
"Now what?" Summer asked as they hopped back into the Rover.  
"It's kind of late." Seth yawned, stretching his arms up and glancing at his wristwatch.  
"Please, Cohen." Summer laughed. "It's barely nine." She placed her hand on his knee as he started the car, and he glared back down at it, happily.  
"What do you want to do?" He asked nervously, surprised at how tense his leg was at her touch. As if Summer hasn't touched that area before.  
She lifted her hand slowly, placing it in her own lap as she maneuvered the seat belt around her.  
"I was thinking we could just hang out. Talk."  
"Talk. Sure. I can talk." He laughed. "In fact, I'm known to talk a lot."  
"Tell me about it." Summer grinned and they went on their way back to her apartment.  
"You love my rambling." Seth said playfully and was pleased to see her grin sustain.  
"It's something we have in common." Summer smiled. "There should really be a Ramblers Anonymous. Like Alcoholics Anonymous."  
"We would be the two most obvious choices for president of that association."  
"I think you would take the cake on that position." Summer laughed, taking a look back at all the bags in the back of the car. "Thanks again, Seth."  
"Consider it a really big and early Chrismukkah present." He smiled, paying attention the road even though he just wanted to stare at her and only her.  
"Oh my god!" Summer exclaimed, clapping her hands, "I totally forgot about Chrismukkah."  
"Ugh!" Seth faked a look of disgust and discontent. "How could you forget about Chrisumukkah? That's like." Seth looked at her quickly, "It's so bad that I don't know what it's like."  
"Is it like forgetting to get your nails done when the paint has started to chip?" Summer said, focusing on her own nails.  
Seth laughed vigorously. "What?"  
Summer blushed. "Nothing."  
"You're so weird." Seth laughed, shaking his head.  
"I'm the weird one?" Summer raised a skeptic eye at him, forgetting about her chipped nails.  
"I guess that's just something else we have in common."  
"No, that's something I just picked up from being around you all the time."  
"That would be true, except for the fact that I haven't seen you in years." Seth frowned a little, because although he hadn't seen her in forever, this whole night had felt so familiar, so comfortable. He could tell by her expression she was thinking the same thing.  
"Some things never change, Cohen." Summer smiled, resting her head on the seat of the Rover as Seth found a parking spot outside of Summer's place.  
  
**************  
  
"Hey." Ryan said surprisingly, startled to see Marissa waiting outside of the pool house. "It's open."  
"I know." Marissa said. "But it's so nice outside." She said, her eyes gleaming down at the pool, which reflected off the aesthetic sight of her.  
Ryan sat down next to her on the cobble ground, resting his head on the back of the pool house entrance. He placed his hand close to Marissa's, closing his eyes. If only every moment of life could be this perfect.  
"I'm sorry." Marissa said quickly. "For overreacting."  
"It's ok." Ryan said, keeping his eyes closed.  
"No," She forced Ryan to pop his eyes open and stare at her. "It's not."  
"Marissa. . ." He really didn't want to do this right now. He was so fed up with the all the drama that goes on around him. And everything has been fine between him and Marissa. She stopped binge drinking, he stopped punching people, things were good. But of course, Summer had to ruin that. Ok, he couldn't really blame Summer for what she did. But it was easier to blame his problems on someone else.  
"Just hear me out, ok?" She squeezed his hand, pleadingly, and he nodded. "Kirsten was drunk. I should have realized that, but today was so . . . confusing. I haven't seen Summer in forever, and Ryan, you saw how she is. It really bothered me that my best friend has become so mature, for all the wrong reasons." She had begun to cry. Letting things out was always hard for her, but her shrink had told her it was better for her to let them out then keep them in. She hadn't seen her shrink in forever. Once she graduated and her parent's divorce settled, it didn't seem necessary. Of course, she couldn't predict the hurricane that was Summer's pregnancy.  
Ryan didn't say or do anything, except put his arm around her sympathetically, urging for Marissa to continue.  
"I don't know what to say to her. I want to help her, but I can't."  
"Marissa, you need to understand that Summer is doing just fine considering everything's that happened. She's doing more then fine, she's amazing."  
"I know." Marissa sniffled, burrowing herself in Ryan's arms.  
"You can't always help people, sometimes, they have to help themselves."  
"I know."  
"And," Ryan started, but Marissa brought her fingertips to his lips and shut him up.  
"Ryan, I know." She kissed him lightly. "It just, sucks, you know?"  
"Yeah, well, some things never change." He said profoundly, not even understanding his words, just thinking it was the right thing to say.  
She kissed him again and looked back at the pool's calm water, shining under the moonlight.  
"It's pretty late." Marissa eyed him flirtatiously.  
"Yeah." Ryan said, even though he knew it was pretty early for their standards.  
"Kirsten and Sandy will probably be hitting the sheets soon."  
"What are you suggesting?" Ryan laughed as Marissa stood up, peeling off her sweater.  
Marissa looked back at the calm pool, taking off her shoes.  
"Are you serious?" Ryan laughed again.  
"Come on, Ryan. For old time's sake." She smiled at him, shedding more clothing as he kicked his shoes off.  
"We haven't done this since high school." Ryan laughed nervously, looking up in the direction of the main house, where most of the lights were dimmed. What the hell, he thought, as he took off his jeans.  
He heard a tiny splash and looked to see Marissa in the pool, her skin shining brightly under the moon, the small ripples crawling out from underneath her splash and making the motionless pool alive with movement. He jumped it too, laughing as she put her arms around him.  
"It's tradition." Marissa smiled, engorging him in a passionate kiss. "And like you said, some things," She rolled her eyes mockingly. "Never change."  
"Amen to that." Ryan whispered in her ear, kissing her back.  
  
*********************  
  
"Thanks." Seth grinned back at Summer as she brought him a cup of hot chocolate. The sweetness of it passed through his throat as he took a sip and he placed it down next to him. Summer sat down next to him on the huge crate that had been on the roof her building since she first discovered the roof. She used to come up here all the time. Before Charlotte was born. The view was amazing. You could see all of Newport, including the bright buildings and the beach. From up here, it all looked so friendly and inviting, but Summer knew better then to be fooled by it's bird's eye view appearance. She shook a little as the wind picked up and Seth wrapped his arm around her for warmth.  
"This view is amazing." Seth said, as if he were reading her mind, which didn't surprise Summer since it always felt like Seth was reading her mind. It was something that used to creep her out, but now she loves the aches it spreads throughout her body.  
"I know." It was the perfect place for her to talk to Seth. She wanted to tell him everything. She finally felt like she could. She was ready to talk and she was hoping that he was ready to listen.  
She cleared her throat, and Seth watched her in anticipation of what's to come. "Seth, for as long as you've known me,"  
"Forever?" Seth squeezed her tighter which only made it easier for her to roll her eyes at him.  
"No interruptions." She muttered, "I have something to say."  
"Sorry, princess." He laughed.  
"Don't call me that." She glared at him. She cleared her throat once again, "Anyway. For as long as you've known me, which may seem like forever," She amended. "I've never been one to share my feelings."  
"You mean, Summer Roberts has feelings?" He grabbed his chest as if this was a shocking thing to admit and she glared down at him again, pushing his arm off her and standing up, infuriated. "Sorry, no interruptions." He shut his mouth quickly.  
"I don't like sharing how I feel. So, bare with me, because this may be a moment straight out of Dawson's creek."  
"Summer, do you think I would RECOGNIZE a Dawson's creek moment?" Seth laughed and she stomped her foot.  
"SETH!" She laughed at her anger and he shut up again. "ANYWAY." She placed her hands on her hips, but shook her head and dropped them. She was taking down her shield; she just had to let it go without resistance. Her face softened and Seth knew she was serious so he reminded himself to shut it, as hard as this was for him.  
"Go ahead. I'm all ears." Seth said, moving a wisp of hair out of her face.  
She smiled, wrapping herself in her arms for warmth from the slight California wind.  
"I'm a wreck, Cohen." She wiped her eyes gently, trying to keep her focus on Seth, although it was so hard for her to face him. "I cry every night. I can't sleep. And when I do sleep, I have this weird nightmares." She looked up at him. "You're in them."  
He nodded, urging her to continue.  
"Everything's black, and you appear. And I reach out for you, but you're so far away. And then I realize that there's a wall between us. And I know that this wall is the wall that I've built. All my pain, all your pain, it's all my fault."  
"Summer, that's not true." He started, but shut himself up as she looked at him, soft tears forming in the creases of her eyes.  
"Seth, are you telling me that you weren't hurt when I left?"  
"Of course I was hurt. And then I was angry. But it's ok, because you're here now. And that's all that matters to me, Summer. That's all that ever mattered." He wrapped his arms around her.  
"You forgive me for leaving?"  
"I forgave you a long time ago, Summer." He kissed the corner of her mouth gently, but she pushed him back.  
"Are you sure? Because," She stopped, smiling. "You know what? Nevermind." She laughed and kissed him back, hard.  
"I just want to know one thing," He said as their lips separated.  
"Anything." She nodded.  
"Why did you leave?" He frowned. "I mean, you know I would have been there for you. You know I would have taken care of you and of Charlotte."  
"That's exactly why I couldn't tell you." She laughed at his confused expression. "I didn't want you to give up everything for me and then regret it for the rest of your life." She gulped back more tears. "I could never forgive myself if I hurt you. But I hurt you either way."  
"It's all in the past." He picked up his hot chocolate and she picked up hers. "A toast," He proposed, and they clinked their mugs together. "To our future."  
"May it not suck." Summer nodded, taking a sip.  
"Well, it could include some sucking . . ." Seth laughed as he dodged Summer's flailing arm, ready to smack him.  
"Ewwwww!" She screamed, stopping herself, and then rolling over with laughter.  
"Some things never change, right?" Seth asked, remembering her words before.  
"Right." She smiled, kissing his lips once more, tasting the cocoa in his breath. 


	17. Seth's girls

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!! This chapter sucks but the next one shall be better. Lets still try to make 200 reviews here!! Anyway, for those who are confused about Charlotte's paternity.. Marissa will have a convo with Summer in the next chapter to clear it up for you, sort of. I know, evil. And wait till they have Chrismukkah Eve Dinner. Chaos. Oh yeah.. and I don't really go into detail over certain 'nasty' things in this chapter. but I do mention sex, just a warning for rating purposes. alright, enjoy!  
  
Chapter 17: Seth's girls  
  
"I guess things between Marissa and Ryan have been smoothed over." Sandy piped up as he slid into bed with a wallowing Kirsten.  
"What makes you say that?" Kirsten asked as she nuzzled next to him.  
"You don't hear that familiar splashing coming from the pool house?" Sandy and Kirsten laughed in that way parents do and then silenced themselves, remembering Charlotte was asleep in the next room.  
"Did Summer say what time she'd pick up Charlotte?" Sandy asked, whispering.  
"No. Seth was the one who dropped her off." Kirsten grinned as Sandy's thick eyebrows raised happily.  
"Ohhh." Sandy smiled. "You do realize that tomorrow is Christmas Eve."  
Kirsten shook her head, "Chrismukkah eve. And don't remind me."  
"Good old Cohen holidays. You never know what to expect." Sandy chuckled.  
"My father's coming. Julie's coming. I'll be drinking. It's basically going to be a repeat of the Thanksgiving of '03 disaster."  
"Sans Jimmy and Rachel." Sandy pointed out and Kirsten sighed. Jimmy and Rachel had gone away together for the holidays. They were truly the lucky ones.  
"And Anna." Kirsten added, laughing.  
"Whatever happened to her?" Sandy asked and Kirsten shrugged.  
"Let's just hope everyone can get along for a few hours." Kirsten smirked sarcastically.  
"And that you don't get near the kitchen."  
"Very funny." Kirsten laughed, kissing Sandy gently.  
  
**************  
  
"I guess we should go get Charlotte." Summer commented as she shut the apartment door behind Seth.  
"I guess." Seth smirked. "Or we could just leave her with my mom. She owes me."  
"I don't know." Summer's eyes became distant. "She's never spent a night away from me."  
"She'll be fine." Seth said sternly.  
"I don't know if I can spend a night away from her." Summer sat down on the couch, not even wanting to imagine a world without her precious daughter.  
"You have me." Seth mumbled as he sat down next to her, cupping her hands in his.  
She looked up at him and knew this was the most sincere thing Seth Cohen could say to her. He was always there for her. No matter what. It was always like that between them.  
"Yeah, you're really hard to get rid of." Summer laughed, trying not to show how much it meant to her for him to be stroking her hands in his.  
"Now," Seth cracked that loveable grin of his, "There is the Summer I know and love."  
Summer's similar grin faded a little, but then widened once more. "Love?"  
"Well," Seth let go of her hands. "I never stopped. Loving you, that is."  
Summer raised her hands to her face, covering her eyes that started to pain with tears. Seth looked at her blankly, slightly confused by her reaction to his words.  
"Why are you so perfect?" Summer started to cry.  
"Sum," He tipped her chin up so she looked up at him through her tearing eyes. "Don't cry."  
"I can't help it." She muttered. Things seemed too good to be true. She was afraid she was going to wake up and Seth would be gone from her life once again. She didn't know how she had survived this long without him.  
Seth lifted his hand, wiping the tears from her face. Before he knew it, her lips were smashing against his, and he let his hands find the small of her back.  
"Seth," Summer moaned, not sure of what was happening.  
He let his lips slide off of hers and leaned back against the couch. She stared at him. She hadn't wanted him to stop, she was just confused. What else is new?  
"Sorry." He fumbled nervously, wiping his lips.  
She laughed, "For what?"  
"For not finding you sooner."  
"Don't you apologize for that, Seth Cohen!" Summer flared her nostrils angrily, grabbing him and kissing him again. "You're here now. And that's all that matters." She straddled him, feeling how excited he was, and he smiled, placing his hands on her hips as they continued to kiss each other.  
  
*************  
  
"That never gets old." Ryan whispered into Marissa's ear, wrapping his arm around her bare shoulders as they pulled the covers of his bed over their naked, half wet bodies.  
"Skinny dipping in the Cohen's pool or sex?" Marissa laughed, cuddling into her favorite spot underneath Ryan's arms.  
"Both." Ryan grinned, kissing her forehead.  
"Agreed." Marissa smiled, moving even closer to Ryan so that she was practically on top of him.  
"So it's officially Christmas eve in an hour." Ryan noted, glancing at his clock on the nightstand.  
"Oh, god. Dinner is going to be nauseating. Every time my family comes over to have dinner with your family, it's chaos." Marissa shuddered.  
"Maybe this year won't be so bad." Ryan said optimistically, but then laughed at Marissa's glare. "Or not."  
"I'll be fine as long as you're there with me." Marissa nodded.  
"Well then you'll be fine." Ryan heaved, shutting his eyes.  
Marissa followed, closing hers and falling into a deep sleep.  
  
*************  
  
"Mommy!" Charlotte's scream pierced through the air and Sandy jumped up at it. He looked down at Kirsten, who was sleeping contently, and he sighed as he got up out of bed towards Seth's room where Charlotte had been sleeping.  
"Charlie, what's the matter?" He asked, scooping her up out of the bed. Her eyes were red and she sniffled.  
"Where's Mommy?"  
"She's with Seth, sweetie."  
"I want her now!" Charlotte wailed and Sandy sat down on the bed with her, picking up Seth's phone.  
"Alright, I'm calling her right now, ok?"  
"Uh-huh." Charlotte whimpered, clutching her stomach. "I don't feel too good Uncle Sandy."  
"What hurts?" Sandy dropped the phone, worrying for the little girl. He clamped his hand over her forehead, which seemed a little warm to him, but he knew Kirsten would know better then he would. He walked over to his bedroom, Charlotte in his arms. He placed Charlotte down in the bed and nudged Kirsten until her eyes opened.  
"I think Charlotte's sick." Sandy whispered and Kirsten jumped up in full mom mode, glancing at Charlotte who began to sway with pain.  
"Charlie, what's wrong?"  
"My stomach hurts." Charlotte gagged and Kirsten dove for the garbage can by the side of the bed holding it in front of Charlie as she held some of Charlotte's brown hair back, The tiny girl leaned over the garbage can, her hand still clutching her stomach.  
"Call Summer." Kirsten told Sandy quickly and he grabbed his cell phone, dialing Seth's cell number.  
  
************  
  
"Seth," Summer nudged Seth next to her. They had both fallen asleep on the couch, the quilt drawn over them. Seth let his eyes blink open slowly, ready to wrap his arms around Summer, but then saw the stressful look on her face. "Your cell phone's ringing."  
He grabbed his ringing cell phone from the pocket of his jeans, which were now on the floor. This only made him smile as he remembered the actions Summer and him had just taken part in.  
"Hello?" Seth yawned.  
"Are you with Summer?" Sandy's voice boomed out.  
"Yes." Seth said, jumping up to search for his clothes, clearly thinking he was in deep trouble. But then he stopped, reminding himself that he was in college now. And if his parents still thought he was a virgin, well they were dumb. Considering Charlotte and all.  
"Charlotte's sick. Get here quick." Sandy hung up the phone before Seth could get in a word and he shoved the cell back in his jeans as he scrambled to put them back on.  
"What's wrong?" Summer asked, biting her lip as she covered her naked chest with the quilt.  
"Put your clothes on." Seth winced. "Charlotte's sick."  
"What?" Summer stared at him blankly and he passed over her bra and panties to her.  
"That's as much as I know, so hurry up." Seth grabbed his sweater, throwing it on and searched for the keys to the Rover.  
"What do you mean she's sick?" Summer panicked. Charlotte was never really that sick before, she wasn't sure of what to make of this.  
"Summer," Seth kissed her forehead, forcing her to calm down as she pulled on her jeans. "I'm sure she's fine."  
This seemed to temporarily smooth Summer over and she nodded, looping her hand in his as they ran down to the Rover as quickly as possible.  
  
************  
  
"Here, Charlie." Sandy coaxed the little girl as he handed her a glass of water, which she gulped down quickly.  
Kirsten had never seen a child throw up so much before. Seth rarely ever got sick, so this was new to her.  
"Feeling better, sweetie?" Kirsten asked, as she carried the girl over to the living room couch, flipping on cartoon network for Charlotte.  
Charlotte nodded sleepily, settling onto the couch.  
Kirsten checked on the girl once more, who now closed her eyes and started to breath heavily, and walked back to the kitchen where Sandy was pouring some coffee for the both of them.  
"Where is she?" Summer's voice echoed throughout the Cohen's mansion, her face appearing in the kitchen. Seth flying behind her, a sense of worry and amusement on his face.  
"Living room." Kirsten nodded towards the living room and Summer sauntered over there quickly.  
Seth slid down onto one of the chairs, smiling happily. Kirsten laughed at this and drank some of her coffee.  
"So Mom," Seth chirped. "What did you feed Charlotte?"  
"Huh?" Kirsten looked at him, dumbfounded.  
"What concoction of yours poisoned Charlotte?"  
"Kids get sick all the time, Seth." Kirsten rolled her eyes. She was glad to see Seth so chipper, but making fun of her cooking after midnight was intolerable.  
"Don't make fun of your mother's cooking, Seth." Sandy chided, although he was barely concealing his amused grin.  
"It's not 'making fun' when it's the truth." Seth pointed out and got up, walking briskly towards the living room.  
He could feel Kirsten and Sandy's gaze from behind him and he whipped around, "What?" He tried as hard as possible to make his 'post sex' grin fade, but considering how much he loved being with Summer, it only made him grin wider at the thought.  
"Nothing." They both laughed and he walked away, confused and disgusted that his parents could tell he had done something.  
"You see the way he's walking?" Sandy asked.  
"Yup."  
"That's my boy." Sandy chuckled, Kirsten giving him a weary look. "What? Am I supposed to pretend that I'm not proud of my son's sexual acts?"  
"You're not supposed to be proud of those things."  
"And why not?" Sandy asked directly, as Kirsten hugged him tightly.  
"What am I going to do with you?" Kirsten laughed, walking up to the bedroom.  
"I could think of a few things." Sandy grinned, trailing after her.  
  
*********  
  
"How is she?" Seth asked, peering over Summer, who was sitting on the edge of the couch, stroking Charlotte's hair.  
"She seems fine." Summer said, standing up and grabbing his arm, redirecting him back to the now empty kitchen. "I don't want to wake her up."  
"Listen, Summer," Seth glanced at the angelic Charlotte and back at Summer, who was staring right through his eyes, "Tonight, the whole night, not just the sex, was amazing."  
"The sex was amazing." Summer smiled dreamily. She hadn't had sex in about two years, so of course, sex with anyone would be amazing at this point, but sex with Seth Cohen never ceased to amaze her.  
"Glad we can agree on that." Seth grinned, wrapping himself around her, kissing her lips gently. "I want to be part of your life. I want to be part of Charlotte's life."  
"I want you to be part of Charlotte's life too." Summer sighed, barely believing this was all happening. She was so sure the day she left Seth that he would never speak to her again. She should have known better. Seth Cohen couldn't stay away if he tried.  
"We're just chock full of agreement these days." Seth grinned, ready to kiss her again, until Charlotte's head popped up in the doorway.  
"Mommy." Charlotte whispered and Seth wondered how long she had been standing there. She was holding onto her stomach, but her face was plastered with a knowing grin.  
"Hey baby." Summer smiled, ignoring Seth's lips, which made him laugh. She picked Charlotte up quickly. "How are you feeling?"  
"Bad." Charlotte squirmed in her mother's arms.  
"Hey Charlie, you know what would make you feel a whole lot better?" Seth said, petting her head. "Ginger ale. When I have a tummy ache that always makes me feel better."  
Charlotte nodded to this novel idea and Seth grabbed a can of Canada Dry from the fridge, pouring it into a glass. "Here," He said, as an amused Summer let Charlotte back down. Seth placed the glass in Charlotte's hand, and she gulped it all down, letting out a tiny burp.  
"'Scuse me." She laughed, looking up at her pleased mother. Charlotte always remembered her manners that her mother had so adamantly taught her.  
"Go back to bed, sweetie." Summer said, nudging her daughter towards the living room.  
"Will you sleep with me, Mommy?" Charlotte asked, pulling down on Summer's hand. Summer looked up at Seth who chipped in.  
"We both will." He grabbed Summer's arm and they followed Charlotte to the living room, the three of them curling up on the couch.  
Seth looked at both of his girls. The girl to his right, who had loved since he was a kid and the girl in his lap, who he only had met hours ago, but was already in love with. Seth closed his eyes, wondering how his miserable life had suddenly turned out to be the best life anyone could ask for. 


	18. The Truth May Surprise You

A/N: OKKKK.. ready for a bombshell? Because there is a big one. At first, I had a really sappy chapter where Summer reveals that Charlotte had a twin who died at birth. But it depressed me, so instead .. you'll see. Also, there is another surprising part of 'the truth'. But it's not revealed here. Enjoy this chapter. AND MORE REVIEWS!!  
  
Chapter 18: The Truth May Surprise You  
  
"Coop!" Summer hissed. "Coop!"  
Ok that girl is practically dead, she's so asleep. Can she not hear Summer's hissing? Summer placed her hands on her hips. She angrily stomped her foot, which she had been doing for the past five minutes from outside the pool house. She cracked the door open slowly, hissing once more. "COOP!"  
Marissa's head bobbled up from the warmth of Ryan's arms and she blinked towards the door where Summer was motioning her to come. Marissa gave her a quizzical look, wrapping one of the sheets around her naked body and running over to Summer.  
"What the hell Summer?" Marissa asked, closing the pool house door to close gently behind her so Ryan could enjoy his slumber.  
"I need to talk to you." Summer said slowly, sitting down on one of the pool chairs.  
"Ok, now?" Marissa asked, sitting down across from her, looking up at the sky. It had to be early morning. Three or four was Marissa's guess. She looked back at Summer, who was biting her lip furiously. "What are you doing here, anyway?"  
  
"I was going to go climb in through your bedroom window, like the old days, but I figured the pool house would be a safer bet." Summer rolled her eyes dramatically. "I know how you and Ryan do all that kinky pool stuff here."  
"Shut up." Marissa grinned guiltily. "What's wrong?"  
Summer let her teeth off of her lip and cleared her throat. "I can't sleep." She looked up at the Cohen's house, which was pretty dark. "I couldn't stop looking at him."  
"Seth?" Marissa exclaimed, quickly looking behind her to make sure Ryan was still fast asleep. He was.  
"I was with him at my apartment, and then Sandy called because Charlotte was sick and we came here, and we all fell asleep on the couch. The three of us, Charlotte, Seth, and me." Summer smiled, thinking back on her amazing night.  
"Is Charlotte ok?"  
"She's fine." Summer assured her. "She has my nervous stomach."  
"I see." Marissa smiled, pressing on. "So how was your date with Seth?"  
"Oh, Coop . . ." Summer's eyes became all distant and Marissa squealed out of delight.  
"That amazing?" Marissa's eyes jumped with happiness.  
"We," Summer quieted her voice down as if someone was listening. "Had sex."  
"I guess we both got lucky tonight." Marissa whispered as well, readjusting the sheet around her, which had begun to slip.  
"Coop," She adjusted her voice. "Seth thinks he's Charlotte's father."  
Marissa's jaw dropped as she remembered all the things she had forgotten between her sexy rendezvous with Ryan.  
"What?" Summer asked, recognizing Marissa's distraught look.  
"I just," Marissa shook her head, "I just can't believe he's not her father. I mean, they look, and act, exactly alike."  
"Well," Summer bit her lip, catching herself off guard. She couldn't very well let her lies catch up with her now. She didn't want Kirsten to know how she had betrayed her.  
"Well, what?" Marissa asked, her eyes gleaming.  
"He's not the father." Summer said strongly, but with a certain tone of disapproval of her own words.  
"Then who is?" Marissa asked tentatively.  
Summer began to panic. What was she going to say? Was she going to continue this two year charade? I mean, Seth wanted to be responsible for Charlotte, which was amazing after all Summer had put him though. And he only had a little bit more of school to go through and then he could find a job and they could all be one happy family, right? RIGHT?  
"Summer, tell me." Marissa demanded, worried at her friend's pause to answer her.  
Summer glared at Marissa, speechless. She was going to make things right. Even if that meant she would get into trouble with everyone. She had to face her own lies. She HAD to.  
  
**************  
  
"Seth." Charlotte pushed Seth's hand, trying to jerk him awake. Seth yawned, opening his eyes to see just Charlotte on the couch. He noted Summer's disappearance, but figured she went to the bathroom or something and looked down at Charlotte, who was hugging onto him.  
"Are you feeling better?" Seth asked her, sitting up straight.  
Charlotte nodded, and then looked at the empty spot on the couch. "Where's Mommy?"  
"Let's go find her." Seth whispered, scooping her up and heading towards the kitchen, in search of Summer.  
  
**************  
  
"What's going on?" Ryan asked, in a pair of boxers and a wifebeater, which he had thrown on once he saw Summer's head outside. He shut the pool house door behind him, placing his hands on Marissa's shoulders.  
"Nothing." Marissa said quickly, resting her head on his arm.  
"Hey Ryan." Summer said softly. He could tell she had been crying, and Marissa had been too, her red eyes bulging out of their tiny sockets.  
"Hey Summer." Ryan said cautiously, not sure of what was going on between the two girls.  
"There you are!" Seth yelled with a whispering hush as he walked towards the huddled group outside the pool house. Charlotte was trudging behind him, yawning.  
"Baby, how are you feeling?" Summer asked, kneeling down next to the girl.  
"Can we go home, Mommy?" Charlotte asked and Summer nodded happily at this suggestion.  
"Hey Bro." Seth said, smacking Ryan's back lightly, snickering at the sight of Marissa wrapped up in a towel. "Isn't this a trip down memory lane? You're rocking the wifebeater and Marissa's naked."  
Marissa and Ryan both laughed at this and went back inside the pool house, hugging each other.  
Seth turned back towards Summer, who had a practically sleeping Charlotte in her arms.  
"Here." Seth said, taking the girl out of Summer's arms, letting her head fall on his back gently. "I'll take you guys home."  
  
****************  
  
"Marissa," Ryan started as they had settled back into bed. "I don't want to pry, but why were you both crying?"  
Marissa sniffled, cuddling up into his arms again. "Summer just confessed to me about a lot of things. She started to cry, I started to cry. It was a classic chick moment." She let out a pathetic laugh and Ryan hugged.  
"She's been through a lot, huh?" Ryan felt his eyes close.  
"Yeah." Marissa let her eyes close as well. ***************  
  
Summer smiled happily as they got up to her apartment. She opened the door, silently ushering Seth inside. Seth placed Charlotte in her bedroom as Summer ran to hers, throwing some of her clothes into the closet. She wasn't sure what was going to happen between her and Seth, but she wanted to be prepared. Plus, she was insanely happy.  
"Aww, you don't have to clean up for me." Seth said quietly, shutting Summer's bedroom door behind him.  
"Um," Summer laughed it off nervously, casually throwing a bag of pads into her closet, "Will you, stay?"  
"You mean, spend the night?" Seth let his lips curl into a smile as he fell onto Summer's bed, exhausted.  
"Well, no sex, because I don't want my two year old hearing that. But, just sleep here. With me."  
"Sure." Seth smiled, patting down on the bed for her to climb in.  
"I'm going to change." Summer blurted, grabbing her flannel pajamas from the floor. She looked at him, seriously, waiting.  
"Yes princess?" Seth asked, his eyes shut but he could feel her glare.  
"Can you, um, turn around?" Summer's eyes darted at hers. He blinked at her.  
"We just had sex Summer. I think I know what you look like naked." Seth laughed. "Not to mention all the other time we consummated."  
"Can you," She said this slowly, pushing his legs, "Turn around?"  
"Fine." Seth said coarsely, flipping over so that his head was shoved against her pillow. It had that familiar cinnamon smell of Summer's hair and he inhaled it, practically getting high off of it.  
He heard some rustling and then felt Summer's body next to him and looked at her innocently.  
"You are definitely the weird one." Seth said flatly, grabbing her hand and tracing circles on it with the ball of his thumb.  
"Whatever makes you feel better at the end of the day, Cohen." She laughed, kissing his lips gently. She knew that she had to start telling the truth to him. So she brought in a deep sigh, letting him know she had something on her mind. He nodded for her to speak and she practiced how to start this.  
"There's something I should tell you." Summer started, biting her lip.  
Seth winced at these words. He was convinced that he was Charlotte's father and he blurted out, "Listen, Summer. I don't want to know. I just hope that now we can just have a happy life together, the three of us."  
"Seth," She shut his rambling lips quickly. "I need to tell you the real reason why I left you."  
"What?" Seth asked, but noticed her increasing anger. She looked like she was ready to throw punches and he zipped his mouth shut.  
"I didn't know I was pregnant when I first left." Summer started, keeping back tears. "I found out the day after." She restrained herself from screaming. "The reason I left was because I saw you," She noticed Seth's confused expression. "With her."  
Seth's jaw dropped and he quickly jumped up, the bed's sheets rustling underneath his legs. "What?"  
"I caught you and I didn't know what to do. I freaked. So I decided to spend the rest of sophomore year at home. Every time I saw you, or her, I wanted to kill you. I needed to get away." She caught up with her breath and looked at him. "I know that what I did hurt you. But what you did hurt me more then you could ever imagine. When I found out I was pregnant, I didn't want to tell you, because at that point, I hated the fact that you were the father of my child."  
"Wait, what the hell are you talking about?" Seth exclaimed and Summer urged him to simmer down, since Charlotte was in the next room.  
"It's ok, Seth. I forgive you. It just took awhile. Besides, I realized how much I love you and how much I need you."  
"I love you too, Summer. But you are not making any sense."  
Summer stared at him blankly. "So you're going to deny it?"  
"Deny what?" Seth yelled, but hushed himself when Summer gave him the look of death.  
"You are such a child, Seth. I've gotten over it. And so can you."  
"Ok, what have you gotten over exactly? I'm the victim here!"  
"WHAT?" Summer asked, outraged.  
"Ok, ok." Seth rolled his eyes. "Obviously, we aren't on the same wavelength here. Summer, tonight was perfect. Let's not ruin it."  
"You are such a guy. As soon as I want to be honest with you, you run away."  
"Honesty? You want honesty, ok." Seth threw a pillow on the bed, angrily. "I have no freakin' clue what you are talking about!"  
"I saw you," Summer said. "I saw you Seth Cohen in bed with another girl. And of all girls, you decide to shack up with that loser." She mumbled to herself and Seth just looked at her, drawing a blank. "You really don't remember?"  
"Remember what?" He looked at her, grabbing her hands. "Can we please just get back in the bed and cuddle, because cuddling equals good and fighting equals bad."  
"Cuddle? Do I look like someone who is the mood to cuddle, Cohen?" She screamed, slamming the bedroom door behind her as she ran out.  
"Obviously not." Seth said to himself as he fell back onto the bed, confused and angry that his perfect night had a not so perfect ending.  
  
*****************  
  
"Hey, Jimmy, how's the Bahamas?" Sandy asked as Kirsten handed him the phone.  
It was bright and early Friday morning. Chrismukka Eve morning to be exact. Kirsten winced at the remembrance of dinner. She watched as Sandy hung up the phone and walked over to her.  
"Coffee?" She asked, grabbing the coffee pot.  
"Yes, please." Sandy nodded, rubbing the temples of his forehead.  
"Have you seen Seth?" Kirsten asked, sheepishly.  
"He's probably at Summer's." Sandy smiled. "Doing his thing."  
"Oh, please." Kirsten rolled her eyes as Ryan and Marissa waltzed into the kitchen.  
"You two look happy." Sandy said, eyeing Kirsten who giggled.  
"So do you two." Marissa chirped in reply.  
"Breakfast?" Kirsten asked Ryan and Marissa as they sat down.  
"Did you make it?" Ryan asked nervously, ready to grab some cereal.  
"No." Kirsten scowled.  
"I did." Sandy nodded, placing some bacon on the table.  
"Then, yeah, I'm starved." Ryan said as he grabbed a piece.  
"My cooking is not that bad!" Kirsten screamed as she stomped out of the kitchen.  
Sandy, Marissa, and Ryan waited to laugh until she was gone and Sandy snickered, "Do you think she honestly believes that?"  
"Whatever makes her feel better at the end of the day." Ryan shrugged.  
  
*************  
  
"What time are we going over to the stoner's house?" Caleb asked Julie as he grabbed the morning paper.  
"Three o'clock." Julie smiled. "And that stoner is your wife's husband."  
"Don't remind me." Caleb muttered.  
Julie laughed as she poured some coffee for Caleb. "Marissa, breakfast!" She called upstairs. Silence. "Marissa?" She ran up the stairs, opening the door to reveal the perfectly made bed. She glanced out the window and saw Marissa's SUV still parked in the driveway. She very well didn't walk to the beach, thought Julie, ticked off as she went downstairs. She grabbed her purse and ran towards the door.  
"Where are you going?" Caleb asked her quickly.  
"To set my daughter straight." Julie huffed as she walked towards the Cohen's front door.  
  
*************  
  
"See, Charlie, any fight can be fixed with food." Seth said as he placed a plate full of scrambled eggs on the table in front of Charlotte, who dove in quickly. She was feeling much better, and like Seth, was an avid eater. Seth glanced over at Summer, who was looking mighty uncomfortable sleeping on the couch. Her nostrils flared at the smell of food and her eyes blinked open.  
"Morning sunshine." Seth chirped and Summer rolled her eyes.  
"You can't trick me with food, Cohen." Summer said, rolling her eyes as she stretched and walked towards Charlotte, giving her a kiss. "Although," She smiled as she sat down, "This looks really good." She smiled happily. She hadn't had someone else cook breakfast for her in a long time, not counting all the meals she's had at work.  
"It is good!" Charlie said, eggs dripping from her mouth. Summer laughed, diving into the food and Seth looked down at her, in anticipation.  
"So, are we ok?" Seth asked her, sitting down in front of his plate.  
"No." Summer looked up at him. "Just because I'm eating doesn't mean I forgive you."  
"Forgive me for what?" Seth bursted out with a sarcastic tone and Summer raised her plate and walked towards her bedroom in a huff.  
Seth banged his head on the table in frustration. "Promise me something, Charlie."  
"Huh?" Charlotte looked up at him, smiling.  
"Will you talk to your mom, try to get her to forgive me?"  
"Forgive you for what, Cohen?" Charlotte laughed and pushed her plate away, her stomach feeling full.  
"Exactly, Charlie." Seth sighed as he quietly ate his eggs. 


	19. Flashbacks

A/N: Lets make 200!!! Anyway.. this chapter is a tiny glimpse into the past, and its not done! Also.. some sappiness, but still, I like it. And expect the next chapters to explain some more about the 'cheating' scandal.  
  
Chapter 19: Flashbacks  
  
Summer could remember that night perfectly.  
  
It was the much anticipated night of the annual Harrison Hall Kegger. Anyone who was someone was going to be at this party; so of course, Summer was scheduled to make an appearance.  
  
As she walked through the dark hallway towards her dorm to touch up on her makeup before meeting up with Ryan and Marissa at Harrison Hall, she felt a pull on her stomach. She knew something bad was going to happen. When life gets this good for Summer Roberts, it all comes crashing down in catastrophic proportions.  
  
So it was no surprise to her when she saw Seth sitting on the edge of Marissa's bed in their dorm, toying around with his cell phone. How long had he been waiting for her?  
  
Things with Seth had been weird for a few weeks. Things in general had been weird. Summer hadn't felt so hot for weeks now, which affected her mood, which affected Seth. When Summer was happy, Seth was happy. So when Summer was angry/sad/delusional, Seth was.you get the picture.  
  
Two angry/sad/delusional people do not get along. Summer let out a sigh as she closed her dorm room behind her, watching Seth's head pop up at her appearance.  
  
"Hey." He threw his cell back into his pocket, walking up to her slowly. Why did he have to look so good? He was wearing the diesel jeans Summer had purchased for him last year for his birthday, even though he detested them completely and swore he would never wear them. It must have been laundry day. And of course Seth was wearing a nice and tight signature novelty tee. Summer recognized this one, because it was the bright red with 'summer daze' sprawled out across it. The one she loved. Seth was dressing to impress her.  
  
"Hi." Summer gave him a sideways glance, trying to make sure he couldn't see the drool from the corners of her mouth at the sight of him. She walked up to the huge standing mirror Marissa had found at a (ew) flea market a while back. She smacked her lips together, swirling some vanilla flavored lip gloss over her lips and adjusting her hair.  
  
"You going to the party?" Seth asked nervously. She looked at him in the mirror's reflection and turned around to face him.  
  
"Duh." She rolled her eyes. "Cohen, it's the Harrison Hall Kegger. How could I not go?" She ran past him, grabbing her Prada purse, the black sleek one she used to treasure before she sold it for rent money.  
  
"Don't talk to me like that." He sat back down on Marissa's bed, his eyes hurt. Summer paused, looking down at him, questioningly. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Summer asked, a little racked by his question. She sat down next to him, making sure there was mere inches between his legs and hers.  
  
He slid his hand on her knee gently, motioning for her to look him in the eye. "You know you can talk to me."  
  
"There's nothing to talk about, Cohen." Summer muttered, staring down at her hands, clasping her bag.  
"Then why are you acting like this?" Seth rolled his eyes. "Why are you ignoring me? Why are you treating me the way you used to treat me in high school?" She could feel his muscles tense up with his anger and she couldn't bring her eyes to his, no matter how much she wanted to.  
  
"Seth," She said calmly. "I just, haven't been feeling that great lately."  
  
"Are you sick?"  
  
"No." She faced him, "Not really. Just tired."  
  
"Ok, I can accept that. But," He paused, searching for the right words. "I know you need someone to talk down to when you're angry, but Sum," He kissed her forehead gently, standing up. "It tears me up inside when you do it to me."  
  
Summer felt the familiar chills of guilt crawl down her spine. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you." She whispered, standing up and kissing his lips softly. "Now, let's go party!"  
  
********  
Summer jolted awake, a coat of sweat on her face. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her pajamas, letting her head fall back on the pillow.  
This dream wasn't new to her. She had been replaying those days over and over in her head for a long time now. That particular moment, in her dorm, before the party, was so much nicer then the other moments. She didn't even want to think about what happened next. But she couldn't help herself sometimes, she thought, as she drifted back into her nap, eyeing the empty plate from Seth's eggs.  
  
********  
  
"Isn't this party off the hook?" Summer said drunkenly in Marissa's direction, although Marissa was leaning on Ryan, half passed out.  
  
"I think Marissa's out for the night, Summer." Ryan laughed, although Summer could tell he was a little angry.  
  
"Come on, Chino! Lighten up!" Summer hollered over the hip hop music blasting from somewhere. "Marissa has been sober for, like, ever. She's in dire need of getting hammered!" Summer grabbed another plastic cup of cheap beer from a tray some dude was carrying and giggled to herself as she felt it glide down her throat.  
  
"I think you've had enough too." Ryan said, grabbing her cup, which she quickly defended and ran away with. Worse was, she called him Chino. He had hoped she had forgotten that nickname, but I guess alcohol brings back Summer's high school memories.  
  
"RYAN!" Seth shouted, walking over to him, a plastic cup in his hand too. "I think," Seth stumbled over Marissa' legs, which she had been trailing on the floor. "I think I'm drunk."  
  
Ryan rolled his eyes. He was the designated driver once again. Actually, walker, since they lived five minutes away from Harrison Hall, right on campus.  
  
"Come on, I'll walk you home. Besides, Marissa's passed out." Ryan screamed, finding it hard to hear himself over the obnoxious drunk college kids.  
  
"No, no, no. I'll walk home." Seth stood up proudly. "Where's Summer?"  
  
Ryan pointed in the direction Summer had ran off in and Seth walked off in a completely different direction which only made him laugh. He pulled Marissa along until they were in the courtyard of the school, walking along the path towards their dorms. Ryan held Marissa's head up to make sure she was still awake, which by her opened eyes, he could tell she was and she grunted as he let her head fall back down again. Ryan looked up, jumping back a little at the sight in front of him.  
  
"Anna?" Ryan screeched, upon seeing the familiar blonde, although with slightly longer hair walking up to him, with a familiar looking boy betrothed on her arm.  
  
"Hey Ryan." She said calmly. "This," She pointed to the boy, "is Keith Rowan."  
  
"Hey." Keith chirped, his brown curly hair bouncing around.  
  
"Hi." Ryan said awkwardly, not being able to hold in his laughs. This 'Keith Rowan' guy looked exactly like Seth, but not.  
  
Anna smirked. "We're off to the Harrison Party. We both go to Berkeley."  
  
"Annnnnnaaaa?" Marissa asked, finally speaking again from her comatose sight and Ryan shuddered.  
  
"I got to get her home." Ryan smiled, pulling Marissa along.  
  
"Bye, Ryan!" He heard Anna scream, but didn't look back. It was just too weird. Why was she here? Before Ryan could ponder this, Marissa stopped and ran to some bushes to throw up. Afterwards, she came back to Ryan, smiling sheepishly.  
  
"Was that Seth and Anna?" Marissa said, stumbling as Ryan took grip of her again, walking on towards their dorms.  
  
"That was KEITH and Anna." Ryan laughed, amazed at how Anna could find such a convincing replacement for the boy she had lost to Summer.  
  
*********  
  
"Well, I'll see you guys at dinner." Sandy chuckled. "Lots of work to do." He laughed, walking off to his office.  
"What are you thinking about?" Marissa asked as she looped her arm in Ryan's at the kitchen table after eating Sandy's amazing breakfast.  
"Actually, I was just remembering the Harrison Hall Kegger sophomore year."  
"Ugh." Marissa whined, shaking her head. "That hangover lasted for days!"  
Ryan laughed at her disgusted face, "Yeah. Do you remember bumping into Anna?"  
Marissa stared at Ryan, blankly, "Would I remember bumping into ANYONE that night?"  
"True. It was just, weird." Ryan shrugged it off. "Whatever."  
"Wait, you bumped into Anna?" She corrected herself. "We.We bumped into Anna."  
"Yup."  
"Wow. Actually, that makes sense." Marissa said to herself.  
"Why does that make sense?" Ryan asked softly, eyeing Marissa for her response.  
"I can't tell you now. I need to call Summer." She jumped up, running off towards the pool house to grab her cell phone from her bag, leaving Ryan annoyed as usual.  
  
*********  
"Summer Roberts, unlock this door!" Seth angrily knocked on the door once more.  
"Summer's sleeping right now." Summer whispered angrily, jolting awake once more.  
"SUMMER!" She jumped up and unlocked the door slowly. "What the hell? I thought you had died or something."  
"I was taking a nap, relax." She rolled her eyes, landing back on her bed. Charlie walked in, sliding down next to her, curling up into her side. "What do you want?"  
"I'm leaving." Seth said, grabbing his sweatshirt from her bed.  
"Good." Summer hissed, looking straight out the window.  
Seth rolled his eyes at her, barging out of the room. Summer sighed, Charlie giving her a questioning look and then she heard Seth barge right back in again.  
"I'll see you at dinner, right?" He asked, as she turned around to face him, not saying a word. "Is that a yes?"  
"I'll see you at dinner because I was invited and it's rude not to show up. I'm not coming to see you." She crossed her arms. "So there."  
"So there? What are you, five?" Seth laughed, Charlie watching them with a bemused look.  
"What are you, in denial?" Summer said briskly, turning back around.  
"Well," Seth began towards the door again. "Let me know when you decide to grow up." He slammed the bedroom door behind him and Summer ran after him, Charlotte following her excitedly.  
"Cohen, don't leave!" Charlotte ran past Summer and grabbed Seth's legs.  
"Charlie," Summer said, maintaing her calm, "We will see Seth in a few hours."  
"Take me with you!" Charlotte screamed, and started to tear. "Take me with you!"  
"Charlie?" Summer tried to pick up the girl from Seth's leg, but she swatted at her mother with great resistance.  
"Charlotte, you need to stay here with your mother. I'll see you in a few hours, I promise." Seth said calmly, trying to pry the girl off of him.  
"No!!" Charlotte cried even more. Summer sighed, looking at Seth for what to do, but he looked just as confused. "You won't come back!!"  
"What?" Summer looked down at her daughter, starting to tear herself, seeing the similar pain on Charlotte's face that Summer had years ago, tugging on her own father's legs when he was off to Brazil or something.  
"Charlotte, I'm just going back home for a few hours. To help Kirsten cook. You don't want Aunt Kirsten cooking by herself, do you?" Seth laughed, picking the girl up, who finally had simmered down and cracked a smile.  
"No." Charlotte whimpered. "Fine, but you have to p-wo-mise to be there."  
"I promise." Seth kissed her forehead, handing her to Summer who mouthed a thanks to him.  
"She's never acted like that before." Summer whispered as Charlotte leaned her head against Summer's shoulders.  
Seth looked at Charlotte, then back at Summer.  
"I guess you're more alike then you thought." He whispered back, smiling at Summer and leaving the apartment quietly.  
Summer fell back down on the couch, Summer in her arms.  
I guess we are more alike then I thought, she said to herself, as she kissed her daughter's tear stained cheek. Summer couldn't let Charlotte feel like that every time Seth was leaving. Summer had been through the whole 'where is my daddy today?' routine and she couldn't let her baby girl go through it too.  
God damn it, why was life so difficult? 


	20. Getting Ready

MORE REVIEWS PLEASE!!  
  
Chapter 20: Getting Ready  
  
That was awkward, he thought, as she climbed into his car.  
  
He hated that he felt so guilty.  
  
And it was the worst type of guilty.  
  
He wasn't guilty of whatever Summer was accusing him of, because the truth was, he had no idea what she was pissed off about.  
  
He wasn't feeling guilty because Summer was mad at him. Nope, not at all. A little sad, but not guilty.  
  
And he definitely wasn't feeling guilty about Charlotte becoming so attached to him, clinging onto his legs like that, begging to go with him rather then stay with Summer.  
  
Nope, he felt guilty because he had liked it.  
  
He couldn't help the grin from appearing on his guilt-ridden face, and that's why he was feeling guilty in the first place. He was so happy to see how attached Charlotte had become to him, because he felt just as attached to her.  
  
He didn't want to leave, even if Kirsten absolutely needed his help in the kitchen. Seth would skip one Chrismukkah meal if it meant he could stay with Charlotte and Summer all day long. Even with Summer mad as hell at him. It almost reminded him of their bickering in the past. Summer was revealing that side of herself once again, the angry tormented side. The side he was always turned on by.  
  
How could he possibly be angry at her for blowing up at him over presumably nothing when she looked so gosh darn cute when she screams?  
  
He shook off his grin, but it did no good.  
  
He was in love.  
  
But then again, he had never fallen out of love.  
  
And he could tell that she hadn't either.  
  
Yeah, that grin wasn't going anyway anytime soon.  
  
*********************  
  
"One second!" Summer screamed at the ringing phone as she grabbed it. "Hello?" She fell back down on the couch, catching her breath. She had gone to the bathroom for five seconds and of course, the phone had to ring.  
"Sum!" Marissa's voice called loudly through the phone. So loud, that Summer held the phone away for a second.  
"Coop?" Summer asked, watching Charlotte emerge from her bedroom, holding out a few hair clips.  
"Mommy!" Charlotte screamed giddily, throwing all the hair clips on the floor. They were the girly kinds, the ones fit for a Barbie doll or a two year old girl. Pink, lacy barettes glimmered by Summer's toes and she looked down at Charlotte, demandingly.  
"Hold on a sec, Coop." Summer placed the phone down. "Charlie, Mommy's on the phone right now."  
"Which one should I wear in my hair?" Charlotte asked, falling down on the floor and sifting through the gleaming hair clips.  
"Um," Summer paused, kicking one towards Charlotte, "This one." She picked the phone back up. "Coop, you there?"  
Charlotte looked at her mother, displeased and angrily grabbed all the clips, except for the one Summer had kicked in her direction and went to the armchair, strategically placing them in her lap. Summer sighed, closing her eyes as Marissa droned on.  
"So, Ryan and I were just reminiscing about the Harrison Kegger. You remember that?" Marissa laughed nervously.  
"Of course I do."  
"Of course you do, I'm so dumb." Marissa winced at her stupidity. "Anyway," Marissa stopped herself. What was she doing? Telling Summer that Ryan had spotted Anna that night would just make Summer's Christmas suck.  
"Coop, get to the point. I need to get Charlotte ready for dinner, not to mention myself." Summer rolled herself over so she was facing the windows of her apartment.  
"Um, I just thought it was quite the coincidence." Marissa paused, trying to fix this phone call, "That Ryan brought it up."  
"Yeah." Summer waited for Marissa to speak again. "Is that all?"  
"Um," Marissa tapped her purse out of frustration. "Yeah."  
"Coop," Summer started, "I told Seth that I knew."  
Marissa smiled in relief, "And?"  
"He denied it." Summer spat out, watching the clouds stream against the clear blue sky.  
"Summer," Marissa watched her words carefully, "Did you ever think that maybe you're. . . wrong?"  
"I saw what I saw, Coop." Summer said sternly. "I kind of need to go."  
"Ok, we'll talk about it later?"  
"Sure, later." Summer said carelessly, and Marissa knew she wasn't going to talk about that for a while. Marissa hung up the phone, disappointed.  
It was quite the coincidence. Anna being there.  
But it didn't mean Summer was right.  
Deep inside, Marissa just couldn't believe that Seth would do such a thing.  
  
Summer hung up the phone bitterly and turned around towards Charlotte, letting her lips curve into a smile.  
Charlotte had placed every clip in her hair, not leaving one strand down.  
"Oh my god, Charlie . . ." Summer stood up, grabbing the girl's hand and pulling her towards her bedroom. They both sat down on Summer's unmade bed and Summer pulled each clip out carefully.  
"Which one looks prettiest?" Charlotte asked, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth.  
"Why don't you use one of mine?" Summer asked, noting Charlotte's grin at this response. Summer grabbed one of the last "nice" things she owned. A tiny diamond encrusted pink and blue butterfly. She placed it in Charlotte's limp, brown hair carefully.  
"Ohhhhh, That's pretty." Charlotte's eyes gleamed at the sight of the clip and she looked in Summer's mirror, pleased. She jumped off the bed, squealing out of delight.  
Summer leaned back, dazed.  
She hadn't been required to dress up in a long, long time. What on earth was she going to wear?  
  
***************************  
  
"Hey there, my friend." Seth chirped as he entered the kitchen, swinging his car keys.  
"Hi," Ryan started, giving Seth a bemused look as Marissa reentered the kitchen. "Are you going to fill me in now?" He asked her as she sat down, staring at Seth.  
"Oh, fill me in too!" Seth squealed, pulling up one of the chairs towards them. "What's the Newport gossip? Who's with who? Who's addicted to what?"  
"Since when are you interested in gossip?" Marissa asked him cautiously.  
Seth scratched his head. "Since now. Spill."  
"Ok," Marissa said, wrapping her arms around Ryan. "This little tidbit is about someone who cheated on someone else, with someone who happened to be a threat to the cheated."  
"Huh?" Ryan and Seth both looked at her, confused.  
"Nevermind." Marissa screeched, letting go of Ryan and grabbing her purse from the counter. "I have to go get ready for later." She kissed Ryan on the cheek, giving Seth an icy glare and headed towards the front door.  
"What's her problem?" Seth asked, shaking off Marissa' glares as he stood up.  
"I'm not sure." Ryan said apprehensively, looking back towards Marissa as she left.  
"Well, whatever it is, it must be contagious." Seth laughed as he started towards the staircase.  
"What do you mean?" Ryan called.  
Seth paused, speaking earnestly. "It really must be 'let's get mad at Seth Cohen' day."  
"Oh," Ryan laughed. "No, that was last week. Today's Chrismukkah Eve."  
"Yes it is, Ryan!" Seth danced a little. "Which means that today cannot be bad. So, by the powers infested in Saint Chrismukkah, I know that all the antisethism shall fade by dinnertime."  
"Get out of here. Go get primped for Summer." He joked as he placed his dishes in the dishwasher.  
"I do not primp, Atwood, I prepare. And speaking of primping, don't think I didn't notice the enormous amount of hair products in your bathroom, because I did."  
Ryan gaped at Seth as he left the kitchen and let out a chuckle, running his fingers through his gelled hair.  
  
***************  
  
Somewhere between her mansion and the Cohen mansion Julie had gotton lost.  
  
She had stopped herself, catching her breath, trying to force her anger to fade as she ran over what she should say to her daughter. After all, she dind't want to offend her.  
  
Julie had lost complete track of time as she noticed Marissa's figure emerge from the Cohen's house, looking a little ticked of herself.  
  
"Mom? What are you doing?" Marissa asked as she stepped towards her mother, who smoothed back her hair, placing her switch to 'bitch' mode.  
  
"Admiring Kirsten's gardening. Not that there is much to admire." Julie cackled as she glared at the dying gardenias.  
  
"Ok," Marissa said slowly, not sure of what to make of this.  
  
"We need to talk." Julie said sternly, focusing in on her daughter's eyes.  
  
Marissa rolled her eyes, walking ahead. "Later."  
  
Julie grabbed Marissa's arm, threateningly and glared at her as she whipped around. "No, now."  
  
"Fine." Marissa said softly, but her voice rising with anger.  
  
Julie smiled to herself. "Well, not here." She walked on ahead, dropping Marissa' pulsating wrist. "Come along, Marissa."  
  
Marissa stared at her mother in disbelief before swallowing back anger and trudging after her into their 'beloved' home.  
  
************  
  
Seth eyed his cell phone as the sounds of Bright Eyes filled his room. It was almost one hour until everyone was coming. Kirsten had opted for a caterer, thank god, so Seth didn't really have much to do, except wait.  
And it was driving him crazy.  
He had hopped into the shower, found the diesel jeans he had shoved in a box years ago and even though they were wrinkly and smelled a little musty, he had ironed them and threw them on, along with a plain blue button down shirt.  
After debating whether or not to wear a tie, Ryan had come in and yelled, "No tie.", only to exit, along with Seth's cologne, which Ryan insisted was for his own protection. Ha, ha, ha.  
Now, cologneless and tieless, Seth was bored. And frustrated.  
So he stared at his cell phone, wondering whether or not he should call her.  
He could just imagine it, her racing around, trying to find a certain pair of shoes and get Charlotte's hands clean as she wished she had said some kind words to him before he left or given him a passionate kiss so that he would have been consoled. If that's how she was, he had to call, right?  
He dialed her number, letting it ring.  
"'Ello?" A tiny voice screeched into Seth's ear, followed by another screeching voice screaming about a pair of earrings.  
"Charlotte?" Seth asked tenderly.  
"Cohen?" Charlotte screeched giddily and then he heard a bang, which caused him to jump.  
"What was that, is everything ok?" Seth asked demandingly.  
"Um," Charlotte squealed. "I think Mommy found her earrings."  
"Oh." Seth laughed. "Can I speak to her?"  
"Hold, p-w-ease." Charlotte giggled, proud of her phone etiquette and she dropped the phone quickly.  
Seth heard her scream for Summer, followed by more clashing and then a throat being cleared.  
"Hello, who's this?" Summer's voice rang out politely.  
"It's Seth." He heard her sigh, clearly annoyed.  
"I'm busy." She said quietly. He could almost hear her eyes roll.  
"Same here." Seth said, glancing around his room.  
"Right." Summer spat out. "So, I have to like, go." She wrapped the cord around her fingers, wondering what would happen if she had wrapped it around his neck.  
  
"Yeah. Me too. I think I hear Michelle calling me to help her zip up her dress." Seth said sarcastically.  
"Who the fuck is Michelle?" Summer's voice rang out shrilly and Seth laughed at her obvious envy.  
"Mommy!" He heard Charlotte scream. "You said the bad word."  
Summer sighed, turning her attention towards the phone. "Good job, Cohen."  
"Hey, I didn't MAKE you say the bad word. You did that all on your own, pottymouth."  
"Oh my god!" Summer threw the phone down in humorous anger.  
Seth hung up slowly, realizing their conversation was done.  
That wasn't the apology he was expecting, but at least he got to hear his voice.  
He glanced at the clock by his radio.  
Only 45 minutes to go. He glanced around his room, humming to the Bright Eyes song playing, once again bored out of his mind. 


	21. A Blond Moment

a/n: Sorry this took so long! Wasn't in the mood to write but this chapter shall be a good one!! and I'm starting a new story sometime soon.not sure of what it will be, but I think a humorous look at the OC.. like a dumbed down story, just for kicks.  
  
Chapter 21: A Blond Moment  
  
"Mom?" Marissa called out as she sat down on the couch, watching her mother disappear into the kitchen.  
She was not in the mood to be tampered with. Not to mention she had very little time to get ready for dinner and she wanted to look good, for Ryan. She honestly felt bad about lying to him, or should she say, keeping things from him, so much lately. Tonight she was going to come clean, fully, and Summer will just have to deal.  
"Ok, I'm ready to talk now." Julie said, smacking her lips as she sauntered towards Marissa, a diet coke in her hand.  
Marissa watched Julie as she meticulously sat down on the opposite couch.  
"Can we make this quick? I still need to get ready." Marissa spat out, crossing her arms.  
"Sure. Let's just get to the point." Julie placed her coke on the coffee table, crossing her legs and placing her hands on them, before taking a deep breath. "You're grounded."  
Marissa glared at her mother, before relentlessly laughing her ass off. "You can't ground me! I don't even live here anymore."  
Julie didn't let her glare fade, waited for Marissa's cackling to subside and cruelly slipped out a remark, "As long as you are staying in my house, you will follow my rules."  
"Fine." Marissa laughed again. "And what rule did I break?" Marissa followed this with an eye roll.  
"Where were you last night?" Julie snapped.  
"Um." Marissa was a little caught off guard and knew she couldn't lie. "With Ryan."  
"You lied to me."  
"So what?" Marissa snapped, standing up, placing her hands on her hips.  
"Marissa Cooper!" Julie stood up just as fast. "Whether you like it or not, I am still your mother."  
"The Cohen's are expecting me for dinner. How would it LOOK," Marissa rolled her eyes dramatically, "if I didn't show? My reputation might be scarred for life!" Marissa mocked her mother's social values and Julie let an evil smile take over her own face.  
"Well, they can't possibly hold you to an invitation if you are sick." Julie smirked.  
"I'm not sick." Marissa said sternly.  
"Really?" Julie screeched, grabbing Marissa' purse, sifting through it before Marissa could detest. "Because I think I feel a fever coming over you, Marissa," She smiled as she grabbed Marissa's car keys and cell phone. "Darling." She threw the things into her pockets.  
"Oh, mom, that's a genius plan. Take away my keys when the Cohen's live right next door. Take away my cell when we have three phone lines!" Marissa screamed, lifting her curled up wrists in frustrated anger.  
"Marissa, I'm doing this for you. That boy is no good for you."  
"You have no idea what you are talking about. Ryan's the best thing that happened to me." Marissa let her voice calm down.  
"And Summer, ick." Julie displayed her views for Summer with a simple shake of her head. "My daughter shouldn't be associated with thieves and tramps."  
"Then I guess I should stop talking to you and Caleb, as well." Marissa screamed again, not being able to help it anymore. She started to walk towards the stairs, towards her room. "I need to get ready."  
"You're not going. End of story." She heard Julie's voice trail off as she slammed her bedroom door behind her. Marissa fell down on her bed. In instances like these, she would call her dad for back up, but he was vacationing with Rachel. She looked towards her phone, but quickly realized she had left her portable downstairs last night as she placed her hand on the empty phone cradle. Shit. Now what?  
Meanwhile, Julie had casually walked up the stairs behind Marissa and watched her door slam in her face. Julie smirked, taking a pair of keys from her pocket, locking Marissa's bedroom door quickly.  
"This is for your own good." Julie whispered, realizing how wrong she was. Spending so much time with Caleb had really made her into an even worse bitch, but she was sure that Marissa needed to break all ties with these kids.  
Marissa heard a click come from her door and she jumped up in realization and disbelief. Her mother was insane, but she wasn't that insane, was she? Marissa calmly walked towards the door, feeling warm tears appear on her cheeks. Her hand smoothed over the golden door knob.  
  
She twisted it, and jerked her hand away when she felt that it wouldn't budge. She knocked on the door instantly. She couldn't do this. It wasn't human. Marissa, giving up, fell back on her bed, staring out her window at the Cohen's pool house.  
  
The window. She could climb out the window! She opened the window slowly, but it would only come up to a certain point, and even though Marissa was tiny, she wasn't THAT tiny. Marissa whimpered in defeat. She was locked in.  
  
No phone. No way out.  
  
She was stuck.  
  
*******************  
  
"Oh my god, not today!" She kicked her old car, wincing at the moan it had made.  
"Mommy?" Charlotte looked up at her mother in question as steam started to come out of their car.  
"Come on, sweetie." Summer grabbed Charlotte as they walked back to the lobby of their apartment building and up the stairs to their apartment.  
Summer threw her purse and keys onto the kitchen table and Charlotte just sat on the floor, bored.  
Great. Perfect. Now she needs a ride. Of all days for her car to finally call it quits, it's now.  
Summer picked up the phone, automatically dialing his number. No. She pressed the flash button quickly. She dialed Marissa's cell phone but got her voicemail. Great. Just perfect.  
She dialed the Cohen's number again.  
"Hello?" She recognized that voice. It was distinct, nervous, as usual. She blanked out, not knowing what to say or do.  
"Summer, I have caller id. What's wrong?" Seth asked tentatively.  
"My car broke down." Summer said slowly, shutting her eyes in frustration.  
"I'll be there in 10." Seth said quickly, hanging up.  
Summer placed the phone down and looked at Charlotte, sighing.  
  
She hated that he would do anything for her, even when she was being a real bitch.  
  
She hated him.  
  
She laughed out loud, watching Charlotte look up at her, amusingly.  
  
She couldn't even convince herself that she hated him.  
  
Because she was still hopelessly in love with him.  
  
And so what if he won't admit what he did. It was all in the past. And she was planning on letting him know that. Tonight.  
  
***************  
  
"Where's Seth?" Kirsten asked Ryan as he entered the kitchen, wearing a crisp button down white shirt and black pants.  
"He's picking up Summer." Ryan said swiftly, as he dipped his hand into the bowl of chips on the table, swiping it into dip.  
"Oh." Kirsten smiled. "Where's your other half?"  
"Miss Cooper is at home, probably applying pounds of unnecessary make up."  
"I see." Kirsten grinned. "I should go get ready myself." Kirsten said as she looked down at her tee shirt and jeans.  
"Yup." Ryan smiled wistfully as Kirsten left the room.  
He took another chip and let it crunch in his mouth as he heard the doorbell ring. It was still pretty early, and most Newport inhabitants arrive at least 10 minutes late, he thought as he made his way to the front door.  
Of course, at the sight of blonde hair, he realized the girl standing on the opposite side of the door was not at all from Newport.  
  
He also felt his stomach drop, those chips churning in his throat.  
  
This wasn't good, he thought as he opened the door and Anna faced him. Not good at all.  
  
************  
"Where are you Ryan?" Marissa thought out loud as she scanned the pool house for movement. Nothing. She looked towards the driveway, seeing an unfamiliar car, a tiny blond emerging from the car. "No way."  
She ran towards her bedroom door, pounding on it once again.  
"Mom, let me out!!!" She screamed, but heard nothing. She sighed, exasperated and ran towards her window, watching Anna step up to the front door. She let her head towards the window, screaming, "Anna, help!" But the girl's head didn't even pop up as she disappeared into the house.  
  
***********  
"Hi Ryan." Anna said softly as she stepped inside. "How are you?"  
"Fine, I guess." He said defensively, "What are you doing here?"  
"I'm here to see Seth." Anna said quickly, running her hands through her hair.  
"He's not here. He's with Summer." Ryan said quickly, watching Anna with accusing eyes.  
"I heard they broke up." Anna said, smiling softly.  
"You heard wrong." Ryan spat out.  
"Oh." Anna said calmly. "Well, can I wait with you until they come back?"  
"Why?"  
"There's something I need to tell both of them."  
"Fine." Ryan let his voice loosen up a little  
Anna smiled as she further advanced into the Cohen's house, but her ears perked up at a sound. "Do you hear that?"  
"I don't hear anything." Ryan said, straining his ears and motioning for her to come in fully.  
Anna shrugged, following Ryan inside as he shut the door behind them.  
  
***********  
  
Seth knocked her door slowly, watching as the door opened and Charlotte stood on the other side, wearing a pretty shiny thing in her brown hair and a pale pink dress. She looked adorable and Seth picked her up quickly and she giggled in response.  
"Cohen, you'll wrinkle her dress." He heard Summer say as she came out of her bedroom, placing a pair of cream colored stilettos down on the ground, slipping her feet into them.  
Seth let go of Charlotte and watched Summer, entranced. She stood up and walked towards him, grabbing Charlotte's hand.  
"Summer," Seth felt all his breath escape his body as he watched the way her silky, cream dress moved with her body, hugging her every curve. Her hair was wound up, with a few tiny tendrils falling in her face and for a moment, she looked like her high school self.  
"You look beautiful." Seth managed to say and Summer watched him, mesmerized as well at how good he looked.  
"You're wearing," Summer said as she lifted up his shirt and saw the diesel logo. "The jeans I bought you."  
"Now I know you just did that little maneuver so you could check out my a." He hushed his voice as Charlotte watched him carefully, ready to accuse him of blurting bad words.  
Summer just smiled, flirtatiously. "As if you even have one." She said, patting his but softly as she walked past him, out towards the hallway.  
"Not going to argue with the woman when she's right." He said, happy to see Summer's bad attitude had faded.  
Summer let go of Charlotte's hand and turned to Seth quickly, following her impulse.  
  
He looked at her, startled, sure she was about to plant one on him, when instead she locked her apartment door, pushing him out of the way. She looked back at him, wrapping her arms around his tiny waist, feeling the warmth of his body on hers and he looked down at her confused.  
"Summer, what's wrong?" He asked her as he placed his arms around her as well.  
"I just wanted to make sure that you were really here." She whispered and let go, looking up at him.  
"I'm always here, Summer." He said, watching Charlotte as she started off towards the staircase, whistling, knowingly.  
"I know." Summer smiled, grabbing his hand as they followed Charlotte down the stairs and towards his car.  
  
*******************  
  
"Anna!" Sandy said loudly in surprise as he saw the blonde and Ryan in the living room, looking pretty quiet.  
"Hi Mr. Cohen." Anna smiled earnestly and smiled at Kirsten as well as she came down the stairs. Anna felt slightly embarrassed at how under dressed she was, noticing Kirsten's beautiful blue dress. "Mrs. Cohen."  
"Hi Anna, are you having dinner with us?" Kirsten asked, eyeing her suspiciously.  
"No, I just need to talk to Seth and Summer. I'm waiting for them to come back." Anna announced, slight disdain in her voice.  
"Ok then." Sandy said. "Kirsten, why don't we, um, set up?"  
"The caterers did all that, already." Kirsten said quickly but realized Sandy was hinting towards something and ran after him towards the kitchen.  
Anna looked back at Ryan, who was staring at his shoes.  
"Honey, I'm home." Seth's voice screamed through silence of the living room and stopped when his eyes landed on hers. "What are you doing here?" His voice escalated as he looked behind him at Summer, who stared blankly at Anna and Ryan.  
Ryan got up quickly, clearly uncomfortable and made a dash for Charlotte. "Come on Charlotte, let me show you the pool house."  
Charlotte, confused, just followed her Uncle Ryan without much detesting.  
"Hi." Anna said quickly, nervously scanning them for their reactions.  
"What are you doing here?" Seth repeated, watching Summer as she sat down on the edge of the couch, still staring blankly into space.  
"I needed to talk to you. Both of you." Anna started, clearing her throat.  
"Well, we're listening." Seth said as he sat close to Summer, placing his arm around her shoulders, feeling her shudder in disgust underneath his arm. He let go and looked at her, confused slightly.  
"Ok, well," Anna started, but the doorbell rang, interrupting.  
Seth waited for someone to answer the door, but no one did, so he jumped up nervously, not wanting to leave the two girls alone.  
"Summer, how are you?" Anna asked timidly and Summer snapped out of her daze.  
"Don't." Summer snapped, then stared back at the door to see who it was.  
"Grandpa, Julie, hi." Seth said as they walked inside. "Gang's all here!" He rolled his eyes and closed the door behind them.  
"Where are your parents?" Julie asked quickly, laying her eyes on Summer, who looked as if she were frozen stiff.  
"Where's Marissa?" Summer spat out quickly, trying to keep her composure.  
"Sick." Julie glared at her.  
"Um, kitchen." Seth said quickly, although he wasn't sure where they were.  
Julie and Caleb disappeared towards the kitchen and Seth looked back at Anna and Summer, who both looked extremely sad.  
"I need Marissa." Summer demanded.  
"Summer, I need to tell you something." Anna urged. "Trust me."  
Summer glared back at the girl with extreme anger. "Trust you?" She screeched.  
"Ok, ok." Seth said, sitting down next to Summer, trying to calm her. "Let's hear Anna out and then we'll go find Marissa, ok?" He kissed Summer softly, trying to make sure Anna knew they were together. Although he wasn't sure what they were.  
Summer nodded, smiling at him, pressing her hand into his and they both turned to Anna who cleared her throat again, ready to apologize. 


	22. O, Silent Night

A/N: HEYYYY any one who likes that 70's show, I suggest you go read my story there.. "Just Another Day".. its pretty good, I think.. so here's another chapterrrr! MORE REVIEWWS PLEASE!! and I think this will mark the end of the ending of this story. only like 2 more chapters!  
  
Chapter 22: O, Silent Night  
  
"RYAN!!!!!" Marissa screeched again from the window as she saw Ryan's face appear in the pool house. She banged on the windows and then looked around the room, started to panic. She needed to get out of here. It was a long shot, but she was ready to try anything, especially because Julie and Caleb were already at the party, she had watched them go to the Cohen house from the window.  
Marissa grabbed a tube of lipstick that she couldn't care less about and ran to the window, and with every athletic bone in her body, threw the lipstick out the window, towards the Cohen's.  
Success! She thought as the lipstick bounced off the glass window of the pool house and Charlotte's face appeared, squishing against the glass.  
Come on, Come on.  
  
***************  
  
"Uncle Ryan," Charlotte squealed as she opened the door, Ryan running to her. Charlotte picked up the lipstick, which had a huge dent in it now. Ryan looked at the tube in her hand and she handed it to him, waiting for his response.  
He opened the tube, recognizing the shade and looked towards the Cooper's house.  
"Up here!!!!" Marissa's voice screamed and Ryan saw her head dangling from her bedroom window.  
"What the heck?" Ryan looked up at her, and back at Charlotte who just stared at Marissa, giggling.  
"My mother went psycho and locked me in!" Marissa screamed, relieved that the lipstick actually worked.  
Ryan screamed for her to hold on, grabbed Charlotte and raced to the kitchen of the Cohen's main house.  
  
***************  
  
::Flashback::  
  
Seth lazily dragged his feet around Harrison Hall in search of Summer.  
  
There she is. God, she's gorgeous. And drunk, he noticed as she walked over to him, her eyes red and distant.  
  
"Time for us to home, sweetie." He drolled on and she looked past him.  
  
"The party's just starting for me, Cohen." She spat, not even noticing his look of betrayal. He had already asked her to stop being a bitch, what else could he do?  
  
"Screw this, I'm going back." He said to her and she waved him off, in search of another drink.  
  
Seth shoved his hands in his pockets of the dumb diesel jeans and walked off towards his dorm.  
  
Summer watched him leave, full of guilt. Was she PMSing or what? Well, technically she hadn't gotton her period in a while, but she was irregular, so whatever. She went after Seth, distracted by the offerings of alcohol around her. One more for the road, she figured, gulping down a drink quickly and then pushed through the crowd, following Seth.  
  
Moments after that were a blur for the both of them.  
  
Summer didn't exactly find Seth.  
  
At first, she thought she was so wasted that she was seeing things. But the more she squinted and rubbed her eyes, the more she knew it was right in front of her.  
  
"Anna?" She screamed drunkenly, staring at the blonde who had her lips all over Summer's boyfriend. "Seth?" She croaked out. She had left him alone for five minutes and this is what happened?  
  
"Summer?" Anna blinked at her just as widely, with an amused grin on her face. She looked at Keith softly, realizing Summer's mistakes. "He isn't." She stopped herself. Summer was obviously drunk and couldn't distinct Keith from Seth and Anna didn't blame her. Anna had found a guy who was like Seth in every way, but wasn't Seth. And the fact that he wasn't drove her crazy.  
  
Maybe it was because she was always jealous of Summer.  
  
Maybe it was because she was a little tipsy herself.  
  
Maybe she's just a bitch.  
  
"Oh, SETTTHHH." Anna purred as she wrapped her arms around Keith, kissing him passionately.  
  
"How could you?" Summer looked at them both in disbelief, but quickly ran out the door before Anna could do anything more.  
  
"Who's Seth?" Keith asked angrily.  
  
"No one." Anna screeched. "No one."  
  
Summer had been so angry, drunk, and confused that she didn't know where to go or what to do. So she went back to her dorm, as if everything was ok. She knew Marissa was worse off at this point and there was no point to go looking to her for help when she was intoxicated. How could Seth do this to her? Maybe she deserved it for treating him badly the past few days. But with Anna? The one person he knew would hurt Summer. Why?  
  
"There you are, I'm sorry I left before, I was just pissed." She heard his voice from behind her.  
  
"Get away from me." She said softly, raising her voice as she entered her dorm, throwing random stuff into her bag. She needed to get out. She needed to run away.  
  
"Summer," Seth called out to her from the other side of the door and she ran to her cd player, blasting the local pop station and returned to packing.  
  
She was leaving Seth Cohen. She was leaving everything.  
  
Summer felt a tiny kick in her stomach and decided to finish the packing later. She had obviously been drinking way too much for her own good. She rolled over in her bed, tears running freely down her cheek.  
  
Days later, Summer realized why her stomach was hurting so much lately, why she had been throwing up, why she was having mood swings. She was pregnant, with his child.  
  
And being the immature person she was back then, she ran to Kirsten for help. Lied to her. Told her Seth wasn't the father, but Seth was the only boy Summer ever slept with.  
She just didn't want Seth to ruin his future.  
  
And she didn't want someone who had hurt her so much to be the father of her child.  
  
**********  
  
"The night of the Harrison Keg, I was there." Anna started and Seth looked at Summer, realizing this was 'the girl' he supposedly was with. "I was looking for Seth."  
  
"Summer, you have to believe me." Seth started but Summer stared straight at Anna, listening intently.  
  
"I was bitter, angry. I had found this guy, Keith something or other, who was just like Seth, but not Seth. There is no other Seth." Anna laid her eyes down on the floor. "You of all people would know that Summer."  
  
Summer nodded, watching Anna quietly, inching away from Seth with discomfort.  
  
"That night, you saw me making out with Keith, not Seth." Anna said sternly. "I made you think it was Seth, because I wanted to break you guys up. I am so, so, sorry." She got up quickly. "My family's expecting me for dinner. I just thought you guys needed to know the truth. I'll let myself out."  
  
"Oh my god." Summer finally let out as Anna shut the door behind her.  
  
"See, I really had no idea what you were talking about!" Seth laughed nervously, holding her hand.  
  
She glared at him. "I cannot believe you."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You called up Anna and told her to make up some bullshit story about a 'Keith' guy? Come on, I'm not that dumb, Seth."  
  
"Summer, I didn't call Anna. I don't even think about her on a regular basis."  
  
"I'm so happy for you." Summer snapped and got up quickly, Seth standing up as well.  
  
Before he could get in another word Ryan and Charlotte ran in and Ryan ran up to Summer.  
  
"Julie locked Marissa in her room." He panted and Summer scooped up Charlotte.  
  
"What?" Seth stifled a laugh.  
  
"Can you go tell Kirsten and I'm going to get Marissa out." Ryan instructed and ran out the door.  
  
"Summer," Seth started but Summer, with Charlotte, in her arms, ran after Ryan. "Someone better conjure up a Chrismukkah miracle, really soon, or I'm becoming atheist."  
  
Seth walked into the kitchen quickly, glaring at Julie, who was leaning on Caleb, sipping Merlot.  
  
"Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?" Seth asked.  
  
"Sweetie, we have company. Can't it wait?" Kirsten asked, eyeing the Merlot with great restraint.  
"No, it sort of can't. But, I think I can be openly honest here and tell you that Julie locked Marissa in her room."  
  
Sandy stared at Julie in shock and Julie choked on her drink.  
  
"Julie, is that true?" Kirsten asked, her mouth open with disbelief.  
  
"Yes." Julie whined.  
  
"Ryan's not the father, is he?" Sandy asked, watching Julie's guilt ridden face and slapping himself. "How could I even take your manipulations seriously?"  
  
"That means Seth is definitely." Kirsten looked at Seth, who smiled knowingly. "Summer lied to me."  
  
"Big surprise from that tramp." Julie whispered and Seth glared at her.  
  
"Unlike you, Mrs. Nichol, Summer is a good mother." Seth spat out.  
  
"Kirsten," Julie squealed in shock, "Are you going to let my son talk to me like that?"  
  
Caleb looked at Julie, ready to leave the tension of the room.  
  
"No, but I am going to ask you to leave my house, now." Kirsten said, pushing Julie out towards the front door. "And I'm calling Jimmy first thing and telling him that you need to be evaluated, for Marissa's sake."  
  
Kirsten slammed the door behind Julie and Caleb and looked back at Sandy and Seth, who smiled and applauded her.  
  
"Mom, if Summer did lie to you, it was because of this whole crazy mix-up with Anna. You know how crazy pregnant women are."  
  
"I'm not mad, sweetie." Kirsten smiled. "Where is Summer?"  
  
***************  
  
"Anna!" Summer screamed as Anna started the car.  
  
Anna had sat down in her car for a while, to recollect her breath and as soon as she saw Ryan come out, followed by Summer she started the car quickly.  
  
"Summer?" Anna smiled at her.  
  
"Is it true?" Summer asked Anna.  
  
"Every last word." Anna smiled at the tiny girl in Summer's arms. "Who's this?"  
  
"Our daughter, Charlotte." Summer watched the words hit Anna's face with pain.  
  
"Oh." Anna smiled. "She looks just like you."  
  
"You do realize that because of what you did, I left Seth. I lied to Kirsten. I raised Charlotte alone."  
  
"I'm so sorry, Summer." Anna said earnestly, not sure of what to do.  
  
"I can forgive you. But I can't forget." Summer said as she stepped back from the car.  
  
Anna nodded in agreement, glad to finally have closure on all of this.  
  
Summer started back towards the house, smiling contently.  
  
Seth never cheated on her.  
  
Seth was Charlotte's father.  
  
Life was finally getting back to the way it should be. 


	23. Proposal

A/N: This story is slowly coming to an end. tear. anyway, I hope you like this chapter . . . as always, review, review, REVIEW! and.. check out my story at that 70's show . . . "Just Another Day" and review there!! thanks a bunch and enjoy! There will be one more chapter after this and maybe a conclusion!  
  
Chapter 23: Proposal  
  
"You!" Marissa's voice cracked as she laid eyes upon her mother, who entered the Cooper Mansion with a huff.  
"Marissa, darling, did you lock yourself in your bedroom again?" Julie said, faking a smile as she sat down on the couch and Caleb looked on in amusement.  
"No, you locked me in, you stupid bitch!" Marissa screamed, waving her fists.  
"Marissa . . ." Ryan grabbed her waist, trying to calm her down, but she wriggled free from his grip.  
"Why on earth would you lock me in? What is wrong with you?" Marissa screamed, flying down the stairs.  
Julie gaped at Marissa, reeling in her words.  
"I was trying to protect you. . ." Julie said, gasping as Marissa stomped her foot so hard the ground shook.  
"Protect . . .Protect me?" Marissa stuttered, all of her anger rising to the top of her head, making her feel like a thousand balloons had just popped in her brain.  
"Marissa, sweetie," Julie stood up, placing her hand on Marissa' shoulder, a sweet tone overcoming her voice, "Ryan's not good enough for you, can't you see that?"  
Ryan came down the stairs slowly and Caleb, deciding that punches would be thrown soon, left his new wife to deal with her consequences, chuckling.  
Julie watched Ryan's advances from the corner of her eye, and gripped onto Marissa's shoulder tighter; smiling at Marissa's softening eyes. "And Summer isn't either. You are a Nichol now, behave like it."  
Marissa smiled widely, motioning for Ryan to come next to her, intertwining her hand with his.  
Ryan watched her, slightly irritated at Julie, but even more furious that Marissa had stopped yelling. What was going on?  
"Mom," Marissa cleared her throat, dramatically rolling her eyes, and brushing her mother's hand from her shoulder. "I'm a Cooper." Marissa glanced at her mother, who frowned slightly and shrank to the couch. "But I'd like to congratulate you . . ."  
"On losing a daughter?" Julie sighed, her eyes starting to tear.  
"No," Marissa winced at her mother's tears. "You lost me a long time ago."  
Julie looked up at Marissa, apologetically and Marissa stopped her mother from opening her mouth.  
"I love Ryan. And Summer. And you need to get over it, because they are two of the most amazing people I have ever known."  
"And we don't lock her up in bedrooms." Ryan hissed, slightly taken aback when Marissa pinched him.  
"I know that you think what you did was right, but it wasn't." Marissa stated, dragging Ryan towards the door. "And when you're ready to admit that, then I'll consider forgiving you." Marissa opened the door gently, looking back at her mother, who was bawling, "Come on, Ry."  
Ryan, without hesitation, followed Marissa towards the Cohen's, silently, in a daze.  
  
Did Marissa Cooper just stand up to her mother? And win?  
  
"Marissa," Ryan said softly, as she turned to face him.  
  
She placed her fingertips on his lips, kissing him gently. "I love you and from now on, I promise I will always be honest with you."  
  
Ryan kissed her back, just as gently, "And I promise to stop hassling you about Summer."  
  
"Good." Marissa smiled as she cupped his hand in hers, making their onward. "Now, I am determined to have a good Christmas, for once."  
  
"Well, Christmas doesn't actually start until tomorrow." Ryan said quickly, grinning at Marissa. "But I can rock your Christmas Eve, all night long."  
  
Marissa's eyes gleaming up at his, "Oh, baby."  
  
"First, dinner. I'm starving." Ryan said quickly, pushing her inside the Cohen's Mansion.  
  
"Agreed." She said, lifting his hand up and kissing it softly as they entered the dining room.  
  
***************  
  
"Summer," Seth began, ready to clear his conscience. Seth had learned from an early age that no matter what, succumb to the woman.  
  
Even if her food really does bite the big one, grin and bear it, as he did with his mother.  
  
Even if Summer does look trashy in that outfit, tell her she's an angel.  
  
Even if Anna did screw up his life, forgive her.  
  
See, succumbing to the superior species is always the best way to go.  
  
Which is why he was going to start kissing Summer's ass, right now.  
  
Even though he did NOTHING wrong. Never did do anything wrong.  
  
Well, except for one thing.  
  
He should have found her. He should have looked for her.  
  
Instead, he moped around, waiting for her to come back.  
  
The guy is supposed to CHASE the girl, Cohen, he could hear her lovely, yet obnoxious voice shriek in his brain.  
  
Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk, is there?  
  
"Summer," He started again as she placed Charlotte on the ground, random thoughts of Marissa's lock in popping up in her head. She pushed it to the back of her brain and held her composure as she looked up at him, pushing back a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"What exactly are you sorry for, Cohen?" Summer spat out, trying to hold in her giggles. God, he was adorable, as his dimples bounced around, searching her eyes for the answers to his questions. She just wanted to do ungodly things to him, right there . . . if it weren't for the fact that her two year old was waddling off into the next room. Not to mention his parents, ew. She smiled as the mention of 'ew' popped into her head. Good times.  
  
"Um," Seth stumbled, walking over to her, not sure which mood she was in currently, bad or good.  
  
"Seth Cohen," Summer couldn't hold it in any longer. "I love you." She lunged at him, deeply kissing his lips. He flung back at her attack, but quickly wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back and kissing back, passionately.  
"One word," Ryan said as he and Marissa entered the dining room. "Ew."  
  
Marissa giggled at the sight of her two friends kissing once again, not helping but to smile as she slid into a chair next to Ryan.  
  
Seth winced at their appearance, letting his hands hesitantly fall of Summer's body and pulled back from her, whispering, "I love you."  
  
Summer blushed gently, helping Charlotte into her chair.  
  
Then she sat next to her, Seth on the other side of the little girl.  
  
"Oh, good, you're all here." Kirsten smiled as she walked in, Sandy right behind her.  
  
Seth stood up, pushing his chair back and raising his wine glass, which the caterers had appropriately filled with white wine before leaving.  
  
"I'd like to propose a toast." Seth said calmly, although he had never done this before. "Um," He looked down at Charlotte, who simply peered up at him. "Um," Of all the times to get stage fright, it had to be now. He looked at Summer, who watched him intently. Everyone else waited patiently.  
  
"Seth, you're usually not one to be at a loss for words." Ryan joked and everyone laughed gently, easing Seth's nerves.  
  
Summer nodded for him to continue and Seth stood up straight, relaxing his muscles.  
  
"Come on, Daddy; just say it so we can eat." Charlotte said eagerly, staring at the bowl of mashed potatoes.  
  
Summer's smile disappeared and she looked down at Charlotte, before laughing horrendously.  
  
"Ok, well," Seth started again, "WAIT!" He looked down at Charlotte, who giggled furiously at her mother's own fit of giggles and everyone's stared at her, amusingly.  
  
"How does she know?" Kirsten asked. "Did you tell her?" She looked at Summer, who was still laughing, but shook her head 'no'.  
  
"She's a smart one." Sandy nodded.  
  
"So that's what you were hiding before . . ." Ryan said to himself. "You're a smart one, alright."  
  
"So, she's definitely. . ." Seth said cautiously, hushing to a whisper, "Mine?"  
  
"SETH!" Summer laughed, trying to contort her face into anger. "Duh."  
  
"Daddy, make your speech so I can have mash-ed pot-at-tos." Charlotte whined.  
  
Seth grinned, propping the glass up. "This is a different sort of proposal."  
  
Summer stopped laughing and stared up at him, seriously.  
  
"Summer Roberts," Seth looked down at her, smiling. "I've loved you since . . . forever. And that's exactly how long I want to be with you," He paused, looking down at Charlotte as he slipped his present for Summer out of his pants pocket, fingering the tiny ring box in his hand, "And Charlotte. Forever."  
  
Marissa and Kirsten gasped, swooning away and Ryan and Sandy stifled grins.  
  
Summer blanked out, slowly standing up to meet his eyes.  
  
Charlotte huffed and grabbed the mashed potatoes, spooning some onto her plate hungrily.  
  
"Summer," He opened the box, exposing the shiny diamond ring, "Will you marry me?"  
  
She stood frozen, watching him, laughing as she saw Charlotte drop a patch of potatoes on her lap and watched as Seth slipped the ring onto her finger, and it fit perfectly.  
  
Like all of this did. Like the three of them did.  
  
"Of course I'll marry you, Seth!" Summer shrieked, jumping to him and kissing him.  
  
"Now, can we eat?" Ryan said, Marissa kicking him softly. "Ow."  
  
"Yes, we can eat," Seth said sheepishly as Summer and Seth sat back down. "Some of us already are." He said, cleaning up Charlotte's lap.  
  
As they all dug in, Sandy beamed at his new daughter-in-law to be, "Welcome to the family, Summer."  
  
"Yes, get ready to go down in fights, become a dork, and pray that your eyebrows that don't end up like that of a muppet." Seth muttered, Summer smiling at his insecurity of being a Cohen.  
  
"Sandy," Kirsten grinned. "She's already a part of the family."  
  
Summer grinned a thankful smile as they all ate, chatting away.  
  
Except for Seth and Summer, who just grinned at each other the whole night.  
  
Between cleaning up Charlotte, of course. 


	24. I Know

A/N: Here it is.. the final chapter. But there will be a conclusion.. that will be like, 'next christmas'. you'll see. I used some of your advice on what to do with Summer and Seth! ENJOY AND REVIEW!  
  
Chapter 24: I Know  
  
::Flashback::  
  
Seth leaned against the door of Summer's dorm, half drunk, half pissed.  
  
God, why was she so moody lately?  
  
And what did he do now, anyway. He figured he would have to pay for ditching Summer at the kegger, but she was kind of being a pain herself. But nooooo, Summer can never be wrong.  
  
Seth grinned, banging his head back on the door.  
  
God, he was so in love with her that her stubbornness was attractive.  
  
Seth Cohen, you are in way over your head.  
  
He sighed, slipping the blue, velvety box out of his jean pocket.  
  
Guess this little baby is going to have to wait till Summer was in a better mood.  
  
He'll take her out, butter her up.  
  
He was only 19. He wasn't ready to get married or anything, but the idea . . . was nice.  
  
And yeah, proposing would scare the shit out of Summer and she'll go running for the hills. Beverly Hills, that is.  
  
But he still carried it around, ever since the other day when he was perusing for Summer's Chrismukka gift. His eyes landed on a beautiful diamond ring, and he thought of her.  
  
And the way her hair sways in the wind, the way she moans his name when they make love, the way she'll scratch his stomach when she's in the mood.  
  
And he thought of how cute she was when she was angry, drunk, sad.  
  
Summer could be puking her guts out and Seth would still find her beautiful. Heck, he'd hold back her hair for her and declare her miss America at the same time.  
  
And that's how he knew she was the one.  
  
But he knew that all along.  
  
Since they were kids.  
  
When she didn't give him the time of day.  
  
He never wanted to be without her again.  
  
And yeah, she was angry now, but once she saw this killer ring, she'll love him again.  
  
Summer was always a sucker for overpriced jewelry.  
  
Seth banged his head back on the dorm door again, but could hear Summer's barely audible snores and realized he would just have to wait till morning. Besides, he had a major hangover in his wake. And so would she. They could stick it out together.  
  
Seth got up from the floor, shoving the box back into his pocket.  
  
Not now, but soon.  
  
Soon, Summer Roberts, you will take the plunge and become a Cohen.  
  
No if's, and's, or ew's about it.  
  
***************  
  
"It's gorgeous!" Marissa squealed as soon as Summer and her were out of earshot.  
"I know, Coop!" Summer squealed just as loudly, holding out her hand to admire the ring.  
  
As Kirsten had started to put dessert and coffee out on the table, Marissa grabbed Summer, excusing them to the bathroom, where they crammed in and squealed in delight over Summer's engagement.  
  
"So, how long do you think it will be before you guys get hitched?" Marissa asked.  
  
"Knowing Seth, it'll be right away." Summer smiled genuinely. "I would get married right now to him, Coop. I love him so much."  
  
"I'm so happy for you!" Marissa cried and engulfed her friend in a huge hug.  
  
*************  
  
"Thanks a lot!" Ryan snapped as he put some dishes in the sink.  
"Your welcome." Seth laughed. "For what?" He placed a dish in the sink as well.  
"Dude," Ryan leaned against the kitchen counter, sighing, "Now Marissa is going to want to get married."  
Seth laughed dryly, "Well, do you love her?"  
Ryan threw Seth a look, only causing more dry laughter.  
"Then marry her." Seth said excitedly. "We could have a double wedding!"  
"Shut up." Ryan hissed as he left the kitchen.  
Seth laughed to himself as he placed the last of the dirty dishes in the sink, clapping his hands together at his accomplishment.  
  
He couldn't believe she said yes.  
  
He couldn't believe he asked.  
  
But, it felt right. And he loved her. God, did he love her. And Charlotte.  
  
And he'll be done with school soon; it all makes sense.  
  
Seth had carried the ring around for a year, until Ryan found it and forced him to return it. But he didn't return it, just hid it. In his diesel jeans, of all places, which he had thrown in his closet in Newport, with all the other 'Summer' memories.  
  
How perfect was it that he had discovered the ring on his way over to pick up Summer?  
  
"Hey," Summer said casually as her and Marissa entered the kitchen, from the direction of the bathroom.  
  
"Hey you." Seth said quietly, eyeing Marissa who was jumping up and down with joy.  
  
"Oh my god!" Marissa threw her arms around Seth. "That was so cute. You are so cute. You two are so cute!" Marissa dropped Seth, who laughed awkwardly in pain and looked back at Marissa, who bounced her way towards the dining room. "Oh, Ryan . . ."  
  
"Marissa's got wedding fever and it's all your fault, Cohen."  
  
Seth looked up at Summer, into her deep chocolate brown eyes.  
  
"Well, we could always call it off." He stepped in closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist.  
  
"True. We could." She smiled at him as he tilted her head up, kissing the corner of her mouth. She kissed his lips gently, then pulled back smiling. "You're right, we should save some of that hanky panky stuff for later. Reenact last night."  
  
"Sounds like a plan." Summer said flirtatiously, walking past him.  
  
Seth threw her his famous Cohen grin and glanced at the clock which flashed brightly 11:30.  
  
Seth walked into the living room, where Ryan and Marissa were feeding each other cake, Kirsten and Sandy were drinking coffee and playing with Charlotte and Summer placed a present under their tree.  
  
"It's Charlie's horse, that we bought her." Summer said as he came by her side.  
  
"It's officially half an hour till Christmas." Seth said to her quietly, turning around to face Charlotte, "Charlie, why don't you open one present now?"  
  
Charlotte ran up to the tree, selecting the very present Summer had just placed underneath it and tore open the wrapping, squealing as she pulled out the tiny horse.  
  
"What are you going to name it, Charlotte?" Marissa asked, picking up random pieces of wrapping paper from the floor.  
  
"How about, Captain Oats?" Summer suggested and Charlotte nodded her head.  
  
"The Second." Seth said quickly. "Let's not forget Captain Oats, the first. May he rest in peace."  
  
"Huh?" Summer looked at Seth quizzically. "You loved that toy, what happened to it?"  
  
"First of all, future wife of mine, Captain Oats wasn't a toy. He was a friend, a good friend." Seth nuzzled into her, in search of being consoled but she stood her ground, glaring at him as if to say, 'are you serious?'.  
  
"Captain Oats had a bad mishap with a vacuum cleaner." Ryan filled everyone in.  
  
"He's in horse heaven now." Seth nodded, Marissa and Summer both laughing.  
  
"How old are you?" Summer rolled her eyes and kneeled down to Charlotte, who was obliviously playing with Captain Oats the Second.  
  
"Why don't we all start opening presents?" Marissa asked greedily, glancing at her watch. "It's only ten minutes to Chistmas."  
  
"Good idea, Coop!" Summer squealed as they all exchanged gifts.  
Seth sat down next to Summer, watching Charlotte tear through gifts.  
  
A sweater from Kirsten, play make up from Marissa, a baby wifebeater set from Ryan ( no joke ), and coloring books from Sandy.  
  
Charlotte ignored the clothes and went straight for the make up, to Marissa's delight.  
  
"Just like her mother." Ryan joked.  
  
"Who gets a two year old a pack of wifebeaters?" Marissa demanded.  
  
"It wasn't like I had a lot of time to get her a present." He whispered, nibbling Marissa's ear and she automatically forgot everything about wifebeaters.  
  
By the time everyone was done opening presents, it was close to 1 AM and Charlotte had passed out, clutching Captain Oats the II. Kirsten and Sandy brought Charlotte to bed with them, Marissa and Ryan marched off to the pool house, giggling, which left Summer and Seth sipping some hot chocolate by the fireplace, admiring the tree.  
  
"Oh, look." Seth said sarcastically. "There's one more present under the tree and it's for Summer from Santa!" He kicked it over to her and she looked up at him, annoyed.  
  
"Seth, you bought me so much already."  
  
"I know, I couldn't help myself." He grinned, urging for her to open.  
  
Summer placed her hot chocolate down on the coffee table and unwrapped the present neatly. Seth watched the flames reflect on her tan skin, bouncing around in the shadows.  
  
"Seth," Summer gasped as she pulled out a photo album, tracing her fingertips across the cover, where 'The Crazy Adventures of Seth and Summer' was stamped in silver. She opened the photo album, which had pictures of them together from the past, as well as clippings. She laughed upon seeing a wonder woman cut out and a postcard from TJ. "I can't believe you're the one who had this the whole time."  
  
"I found it, in your dorm. The only thing you left." He sighed, moving in closer to her. "How come you never showed it to me?"  
  
"You added to it." She said, ignoring his question as she pointed to a new picture of Seth and Charlotte together.  
  
"Well," He kissed her gently, "The Crazy Adventures of Seth and Summer are far from over."  
  
"This is great, thanks." She said, placing the photo album down on the table, leaning into him. "You're great. This is all so . . . perfect."  
  
"I know what you mean."  
  
"I never showed it you because I didn't want you to know how much I cared."  
  
Seth looked down at her, raising his eyebrows in question.  
  
"I have issues, we know this." Summer laughed. "But I don't care anymore. I love you and I plan on telling you that a lot."  
  
"Good, because I love you too."  
  
"Merry Christmas, Seth." Summer kissed his lips gently and shut her eyes as she nuzzled her head into his chest.  
  
"You know, Summer," Seth began, "We really need to convert you to the way of Chrismukkah. And Charlotte. She is part jewish, you know. . ." Seth looked down at Summer, who had began to snore. "Merry Christmas, Summer." He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes as well.  
  
Summer lifted an eyelid, looking at him for a second, then squeezed his hand.  
  
"Yes?" He asked her, without lifting an eyelid.  
  
"Just making sure you're really here."  
  
"I'm always here, Summer."  
  
"I know, Seth," Summer closed her eyes, feeling exuberantly safe and happy, "I know."  
  
~~~~THE END~~~~~~ 


	25. One Year Later The Conclusion

A/N: AND NOW HERE IS THE TRUE END. sorry!! but no worries.. I have a surprise in store for you all that I just decided upon!! Anyway.. here is the conclusion, which takes place at Summer's apartment, next Christmas Eve. Enjoy! and as always, review!  
  
Chapter 25: One Year Later: The Conclusion  
  
"Your parents say hi!" Marissa Cooper called from the kitchen area, where she was twirling a phone cord around in her tiny hands.  
  
"Say hi back!" Seth called back to her from the living room couch, where he was busy setting up the new PS3 he had bought Charlotte for Chrismukkah. And for himself, of course.  
  
Marissa said her goodbyes, jumping off the kitchen stool and falling back down on the couch in Summer's apartment.  
  
"I can't believe my dad and Rachel are on vacation again on Christmas. I never see them during holidays!" Marissa exclaimed as she kicked off her flats and stretched her arms upward.  
  
"Well, I'm glad I convinced my parents to go with them to the Bahamas." Seth said as he shoved a plug into the TV, "I wanted to spend Chrismukkah at home."  
  
"I see." Marissa laughed. "This won't be home for long, though." Marissa said sadly, looking around at the tiny apartment and the little Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, which was adorned with ornaments and lights.  
  
"I know." Seth said, finally inserting the right plug into the TV set and standing up to sit next to Marissa. "But, the new house is gorgeous. I can't wait to move in."  
  
"I still can't believe you guys are leaving Orange County." Marissa said calmly.  
  
"I can!" Seth huffed. "Besides, I've always loved the East Coast."  
  
"Yeah, but it's cold there." Marissa said, wriggling her nose.  
  
"We're home!" Summer's voice called through the air at the sound of the apartment door opening.  
  
"Daddy, daddy!" Charlotte came running towards Seth, wrapping her tiny arms around his.  
  
"Did you have fun food shopping?" Marissa chirped up, helping Summer with the groceries.  
  
"You won't believe how many people do last minute food shopping on Christmas Eve!" Ryan said as he came through the door with more groceries.  
  
"It was swamped." Summer nodded, taking out a cake she had picked up from the bakery and turned to the oven, checking on the ham she had put in there hours ago.  
  
"Don't worry, I've been checking it." Seth said as he grabbed Summer from behind, planting a huge kiss on her lips.  
  
"I'm not Kirsten, Seth. I won't ruin your dinner!" Summer smiled as she landed back on her feet.  
  
"Nothing will ruin my dinner." Seth said. "NOTHING." He said this so seriously that the rest of the gang cracked up and turned around at the sound of Charlotte shrieking.  
  
"You got me the Tony Hawk game!!" Charlotte's tiny scream pierced through the air.  
  
"I knew you wanted it, sweetie." Seth smiled, walking over to Charlotte who kissed his cheek and smiled wide.  
  
"Oh, please." Summer spat out as Marissa and Ryan kept unloading groceries. "You have brainwashed our child. She never liked skateboarding until you bought her that baby skateboard. And, Playstation, Seth? Watch, you are the only one who will ever use that thing!"  
  
"Not true." Seth smiled to Summer's dismay. He picked up another video game case.  
  
"Oh my god!" Summer squealed. "The Vogue Makeover Game!!"  
  
"Do I know my girls or what?" Seth grinned as he went over to Ryan, who just laughed and shook his head as Summer sat down on the couch, ripping open the video game. "Ryan, it's almost THAT time."  
  
"What time?" Marissa asked quickly, glancing over at Ryan and Seth who quickly averted their eyes.  
  
"Time for you to mind your business." Seth whispered and glanced over at Summer, who thankfully was engrossed in reading the video game instructions.  
  
"Uh-huh." Marissa snickered and went back to putting away the groceries.  
  
Ryan nodded at Seth and quickly hid a can in a nearby shelf. He smacked his hands on the countertop, causing everyone to look up at him.  
  
"Oh my god, I am such a spaz." Ryan said dramatically, trying not to crack up. "I forgot the cranberry sauce."  
  
"Good, I hate that stuff." Marissa exclaimed and Ryan threw her a look. "What?" She said innocently, trying to understand what he was implying.  
  
"Are you sure?" Summer asked as she walked over to them. "I'm pretty sure I saw it in there." Summer started to look through the empty bags but Seth grabbed her hands.  
  
"We could go get it." He insisted.  
  
Summer stared at him curiously but shook it off. "Okay. Coop, make sure you check on the ham."  
  
Marissa nodded and looked towards Charlotte, who already starting fiddling around with her new play station.  
  
"Come on, we better hurry . . ." Seth whined as Summer grabbed her coat. "You know how crazy Newpsies can be about cranberry sauce. It might be all gone by the time we get there."  
  
Summer raised her eyebrows at him skeptically, but he pushed her out the door, ignoring her looks.  
  
"Seth, what's going on?" Summer laughed as they found the Rover parked on the street of their apartment.  
  
"You'll see."  
  
Meanwhile, back in the apartment, Ryan had pulled out the can of cranberry sauce from the shelf and placed it next to Marissa who looked at him awkwardly.  
  
"I better call Summer and tell them we found it." Marissa started, but Ryan shook his head slowly. "Ok, what's going on?"  
  
"You'll see." Ryan said, looking back at Charlotte, who was trying out moves in the Tony Hawk game. "Charlotte, Aunt Marissa and Uncle Ryan are going to be right outside if you need anything."  
  
Charlotte grunted in reply and Marissa and Ryan headed out the door.  
  
"Ok, what is going on?" Marissa laughed and Ryan put his hand up to her lips, hushing her up.  
  
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, kissing her gently.  
  
"Ryan, you're acting really weird." Marissa laughed again.  
  
"Marissa, I love you."  
  
"I love you too." Marissa said slowly, a little freaked out.  
  
"And I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Ryan opened his eyes again to see Marissa's eyes started to scrunch up, like they did when they went to see a chick flick at the Megaplex. "Will you marry me?" He held out a silver ring with a whopper of a diamond. Seth had helped him pick it out last week.  
  
"Oh my god." Marissa blurted as she slipped the ring onto her finger. "Yes!" She wrapped her arms around Ryan, kissing him like there was no tomorrow before they slipped back into the apartment to check on Charlotte and the ham.  
  
****************  
  
"Seth Cohen, where are we going?" Summer said for the millionth time.  
  
A few blocks, she realized they were not going in the direction of the super market, but towards the pier. Towards the pier where Seth's boat happened to be parked.  
  
"Exactly a year ago, we got engaged." Seth said as he looked at the clock, synchronizing his words with the time.  
  
"Oh." Summer sighed, realizing Seth was doing one of his trippy romantic escapades which she loved. "Ohhhh."  
  
"Summer, there's something I need to tell you."  
  
Oh no. That didn't sound right to her. What was going on?  
  
"Something I told Marissa, Ryan, and Charlotte a few days ago, but I wanted to wait with you."  
  
"Charlotte kept a secret from me?" Summer said, surprised. "Wait, Coop kept a secret from me?"  
  
"Yes, they both kept their mouths shut, surprisingly." Seth grinned as he parked. "Come on."  
  
He grabbed her hand as they walked down the dock towards Summer's Breeze.  
  
Summer sighed deeply as she saw the tiny boat with her name emblazoned on it. "Wait," She stopped herself. "Why is this here?"  
  
She let go of his hand and picked up the tiny 'for sale' sign on the boat.  
  
"I'm not going to need it anymore." Seth said quietly.  
  
"Yeah, but it has history, this boat." Summer said quickly, slightly flustered and confused. Why would Seth sell his beloved boat? This was big.  
  
"I needed the money from the boat for something else."  
  
"For what?" Summer said quickly. She wasn't aware of any financial issues with them. Summer had continued to work at the Crab Shack and Seth had found a nice little job at Sandy's offices. Not to mention all the money Kirsten and Sandy had given to them as a wedding present. Oh, speaking of their wedding. . .  
  
::Flashback::  
  
Summer's stomach had never been this twisted before.  
  
"Mommy, this dress itches." Charlotte said, tugging down on her white flower girl dress.  
  
"So does mine, sweetie." Summer said slowly, grinning down at her daughter.  
  
"Charlotte, it's almost time." Marissa said, picking up Charlotte. "Good luck!" She hugged Summer quickly and left the dressing room towards the main hall of the church.  
  
Seth wasn't really up for getting married in Summer's church, but she quickly convinced him. It didn't take much to convince Seth to do anything, as long as Summer used her charms and her ass-ets. If you know what I mean.  
  
"Hey beautiful." Summer turned around at Seth's voice.  
  
"Cohen!" She shrieked. "You're not supposed to back here, it's bad luck!"  
  
"All my luck is bad, so I figured, what the hell?" Seth grinned, kissing her gently. God, she looked gorgeous in that flowy, white dress.  
  
He didn't look to bad in his tux, she thought, as their lips parted.  
  
"Get out of here." Summer said quickly. "It's almost time."  
  
Seth pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and traced his fingertips down to her heart. "Your heart is almost beating as fast as mine. Are you nervous too?"  
  
Summer nodded. "Extremely."  
  
"Why?" Seth asked, a sense of insecurity in his voice.  
  
"Because this is just too good to be true." Summer said confidently, pushing him away. "Now, leave, before I call of the wedding."  
  
"Don't break my heart now, Summer, darling." Seth said, putting up his hands in defeat.  
  
"Your heart won't be the only thing broken if you don't get out of here and go to the altar, where you belong!" Summer said firmly, with a casual laugh at Seth's innocent eyes and he left with a grin.  
  
Summer looked back in the mirror, pulling at her dress.  
  
Hey, her stomach wasn't twisted anymore.  
  
"Ok," Summer smiled, looking into the mirror one last time as she grabbed her bouquet of flowers, "Let's do this, Mrs. Cohen."  
  
Summer smiled widely as she ran to the main hall, taking her place in line.  
  
****  
  
"Am I smiling too wide?" Seth asked nervously. "Are you sure I look ok?"  
  
"You look fine, Seth." Ryan muttered, watching as Marissa came down the aisle and took her place as maid of honor. She grinned at Ryan and he grinned right back.  
  
"Oh my god," Ryan heard Seth say and he glanced at Seth, noticing how his eyes bulged. "She's beautiful, isn't she, Atwood?"  
  
Ryan looked down at the aisle, at Summer, who's eyes were fixated at Seth. Then he glanced at Marissa, who was staring right back at him. "Yeah, she really is."  
  
"I am really getting married to Summer Roberts." Seth whispered, picking up his jaw as Summer reached the altar and the priest began to speak.  
  
"Hi." Summer whispered to Seth and Seth mouthed a 'hi' back.  
  
As the priest drone on Seth and Summer could not lift their gazes off each other.  
  
Charlotte walked over with a pillow, where each ring was placed, and as they slipped their rings on each other's fingers, they whispered 'I love you' to each other.  
  
And Seth really meant it.  
  
And Summer knew he really did.  
  
And vice versa.  
  
"You may now kiss the bride." The priest concluded and Seth grabbed Summer, bringing her in for a huge kiss.  
  
Everyone's claps were barely audible to the newlyweds who were in constant shock together until the reception, hours later.  
  
Summer sat with Marissa, watching Seth dance with Charlotte, swinging her legs around to the music. Ryan was dancing with Kirsten, but staring at Marissa the whole time.  
  
Summer glanced over at Jimmy, Rachel, and Sandy, who were chatting up a storm by the bar. Probably about business.  
  
"Summer," Marissa started, taking a cautious sip of Champagne. She hadn't had a drink since high school, practically. "In high school, did you ever think you would marry Seth Cohen?"  
  
Summer let out a childish laugh, "No." She grinned. "I was an idiot in high school."  
  
"We all were." Marissa agreed as the song ended. She ran to Ryan, and they started the next dance together, leaving Kirsten with Sandy to dance with.  
  
Seth handed Charlotte over to Jimmy and Rachel and walked over to his new bride.  
  
"Hey gorgeous. Listen," Seth rambled as Summer looked up, smiling. "I know you just got married to some loser, but I was wondering, how would you like to dump him and run away with me?"  
  
"First of all," Summer said, standing up. "My husband is not a loser."  
  
"Oh, really?" Seth grinned, kissing her gently.  
  
"He's a dork. There's a difference." Summer said, leading him to the dance floor.  
  
"I see." Seth whispered in her ear as they slow danced. "Well, my wife is the most beautiful woman in the world. But don't tell her that."  
  
"I won't." She grinned at the compliment. "Don't tell my husband that he's a dork."  
  
"He's well aware of his dorkiness."  
  
"No kidding."  
  
*****  
  
"Summer!" Seth said, snapping his fingers in front of her.  
  
Summer shook the memories of the wedding out of her head and stared back at Seth, who was kneeling down by the boat.  
  
"Sorry, why are you selling the boat?" Summer said, still shaking her head.  
  
"Because I needed the money for a down payment."  
  
"Down payment? For what?" Summer's eyes lit up.  
  
"Your Christmas present."  
  
"Which is?" Summer's head started up with idea. Was it a car? Was it a new house?  
  
Seth took out a snapshot of a pretty Victorian house, overlooking a lake.  
  
"Wow, this house is beautiful." Summer said, gasping. It was just like the house she used to envision herself in when she was little. Her perfect house, with her perfect family.  
  
"Glad you think so. It's ours." Seth grinned as Summer wrapped her arms around his body. "It's in Boston. Rachel set me up with a job there that will pay me three times as much as what I get at my dad's office."  
  
"Oh my god, Seth!" Summer squealed.  
  
"And the schools there are really good." Seth said, thinking of Charlotte.  
  
"Oh my god!" Summer squealed again, looking back at the photo of their new home.  
  
"And I knew you wanted to get the hell out of Orange County. So now, we can."  
  
"Boston." Summer said slowly.  
  
"Boston." Seth confirmed.  
  
"I love the sound of that."  
  
"I love you." Seth smiled, kissing her.  
  
"Wow, dork." Summer grinned. "We better go. Marissa is almost as bad as Kirsten in the kitchen." Summer laughed as Seth pulled her quickly.  
  
"What, and you left her there with the food?" Seth screamed as he pressed down on the gas pedal before Summer could even buckle up.  
  
But she could care less that Seth was speeding in order to save a ham.  
  
She looked down at the snapshot again, entranced.  
  
Her perfect home.  
  
She looked over at Seth.  
  
Her perfect family.  
  
Dreams do come true.  
  
*************  
  
"Summer!" Marissa grabbed Summer as soon as she was in the door. "I need to tell you something."  
  
"I cannot believe you kept a secret from me." Summer whined as she held up the photograph.  
  
"Oh, that." Marissa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm engaged!"  
  
"What! That's amazing!" Summer smiled. "Congrats, Coop!"  
  
"Finally." Seth added as he patted Ryan on the back. Then he ran to the ham, which thankfully, was ok.  
  
************  
  
"Merry Christmukkah, baby." Summer said quietly as she tucked Charlotte in and flicked the lights off.  
  
Dinner with their newly engaged friends was great, as usual, but Summer was so eager to spend some alone time with Seth.  
  
That's why she couldn't stop smiling when he was lying down on their bed in boxers and a novelty tee, reading a comic book.  
  
"Seth Cohen," Summer started, slipping off her robe. "Don't you think you're a little too old for comic books."  
  
Seth rolled his eyes then closed them as he folded the comic book shut. "Summer, I will never be too old for." He let his sentence trail off when he opened his eyes to see Summer in her old Wonder Woman outfit, smiling victariously.  
  
"What about Charlotte?" Seth grinned.  
  
"She's out cold." Summer nodded. "We can be quiet, can't we?"  
  
"We can try." Seth said, tossing the comic book aside as he pulled Summer ontop of him.  
  
"Merry Chrismukkah, Seth." Summer laughed as he kissed her shoulders.  
  
"And a Very Merry Chrismukkah to you, Wonder Woman."  
  
"Mommy!" Charlotte's scream wailed through the air to Seth and Summer's disappointment.  
  
"You know, in Boston, Charlotte's room will be down the hall from ours."  
  
"Oh, really?" Summer smiled, slipping her robe back on and walking over to Charlotte's bedroom, comforting her child.  
  
Seth watched as Summer remerged, shedding the wonder woman suit for comfy pjs and slid into bed.  
  
"Sorry." She said.  
  
"It's ok, we can just cuddle." Seth said. "I'm a good cuddler."  
  
"I have a better idea." Summer said, quickly jumping up and dragging Seth with her towards the living room.  
  
"Summer, what the hell?" He asked as she turned the TV on, quickly lowering the volume as the PlayStation logo came on the screen. "Wait, you want to play video games! You are the best wife ever!"  
  
Summer grinned, handing him a controller as she popped in her own game. "I know."  
  
"Wait, dammit," Seth snapped, biting his lip. "You are so not the best wife ever now."  
  
"Come on, Cohen, you love video games and Vogue Makeover IS a video game."  
  
"Fine." He said, grinning at Summer, who returned a mischievous grin.  
  
She always convinced him to do things he didn't want to do.  
  
"But I don't love ALL video games." He muttered.  
  
Within an hour, Seth was whispering screams at Summer.  
  
"No, no, no. That shirt is all wrong for her. Use the one you got from Neiman Marcus, the pink one, yes."  
  
"Seth Cohen, I think that I know a thing or two more then you about what looks good on people." She snorted at his novelty tee.  
  
"This is a classic." He said, eyeing his tee shirt. "Like me."  
  
"Classically dorky." Summer grinned and he tackled her.  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah." She laughed.  
  
"Well, you better not let your husband know that you're playing midnight video games with suck a classic dork."  
  
"Oh, don't worry," Summer laughed, kissing him passionately. "He already knows."  
  
"Mommy. . ." Charlotte walked in and Seth and Summer sat up, laughing as she sat down on Seth's lap. "I'm not tired."  
  
"Want to play Tony Hawk, Charlie?" Seth grinned and Charlotte nodded.  
  
"Well," Summer yawned. "I'm off to bed." She looked at Seth for a minute before getting up.  
  
"We have a third controller, Summer. You can play too." Seth watched Summer shake her head and hint towards the bedroom. "On second thought, Charlie, why don't you practice before you play me, because, I am like the Tony Hawk champ."  
  
"Uh-huh." Charlotte said distractedly as she started up the game.  
  
Seth raised the volume on the game. "And Tony Hawk is best played when the volume is all the way up." He patted Charlotte's head and ran to Summer, who locked the door behind him.  
  
"You sure she won't hear us?" Seth asked as Summer pulled off her PJs and climbed into bed.  
  
"We can be quiet." Summer moaned silently as Seth kissed her shoulder blade.  
  
"We can certainly try." Seth grinned. "Thank god our new house has thick walls."  
  
"Dork."  
  
"You love it."  
  
"I love you." She smiled at her cheesiness, kissing his lips once more.  
  
It was very merry chrismukkah indeed for Summer Roberts.  
  
She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy.  
  
Everything was finally how it was supposed to be.  
  
And best of all, now she didn't need to worry about needing extra space.  
  
She was planning on telling Seth as soon as they got to Boston.  
  
Summer Roberts was pregnant again.  
  
And this time, she wouldn't have to run away.  
  
She wasn't going anywhere.  
  
{A/N} If you haven't guessed it! There will be a sequel. Set Two Years in the Future. With the new baby, in Boston. Charlotte will be 5. Marissa and Ryan are going to visit Seth and Summer on the east coast, but.. well, there will be drama. and comedy, with Seth and Summer. You'll see!! Keep tuned for that, but meanwhile, check out my other story. "my kryptonite" here at the oc or "just another day" at that 70's show. thanks for all reviewers! that's a wrap! 


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